It's Not Me
by racefh853629
Summary: Part 3, behind "It's Not My Time" and "It's Not Over," picking up two months after "It's Not Over" ends. Minor CSI:NY crossover.
1. Prologue

A/N: I don't own NCIS, CSI:NY, CBS, or any other known entity. Craig and Syndney are mine. Sorry this is up a day late... busy week. But this, like the other two (It's Not My Time and It's Not Over), will have regular Friday updates barring any complications such as website issues and/or writer's block. The characters of CSI:NY are in the first part of the story, but since the two before this were straight-up NCIS and because this one will taper down to being just NCIS, it's going in the NCIS category. This takes place two months after the end of It's Not Over, and I highly recommend that you read the first two first (but there's enough here that I think explains what happened in the barest sense). And since this is becoming an epic, I will end it here. I hope you guys enjoy, and please review. :)

* * *

Prologue: Two Months Later…

_**Previously…**_

"_DiNozzo's been kidnapped," Gibbs said bluntly._

* * *

_With a heavy sigh, Tony finally whispered, "I was raped, Boss."_

* * *

"_I managed to pull a print off the pipe that was used to 'kill' our 'victim,'" Abby said, typing as she spoke. "It came back to a Charles Sterling, aka Chip."_

"_So, our print comes back to a guy in prison," Ziva said._

"_If his print's on it, he's got to be involved."_

* * *

_Gibbs looked back at Tony's sleeping, mildly disturbed form. Rarely did Gibbs feel helpless when it came to dealing with DiNozzo, but he couldn't help feeling that way now. How could they get him through this?_

* * *

"_Everything in due time, Anthony."_

* * *

_Gibbs knew eventually, Tony wouldn't be able to run from this anymore. And when that happened… who knew what the younger man was capable of._

* * *

"_Why are you talking like that?"_

"_Like what?"_

"'_Like you care.' 'You know you'd miss me.' What are you talking about?"_

"_Nothing, McGee. Just making conversation."_

"_You sure?"_

"_If the thought even crossed my mind, Gibbs would kill me."_

* * *

"_Hi," the doctor said warmly, extending her hand toward the two men. "I'm Dr. Sydney Jansen."_

* * *

"_He'll bounce back, though," Ducky said after a moment. "It's going to take a while, but Anthony is a very resilient man. He will come back from this."_

"_I hope you're right, Duck," Gibbs said, walking out of Autopsy._

_Ducky sighed, turning back to the corpse on the table. "I hope I'm right too."_

* * *

"_Do you think our victim was weak?" Gibbs probed gently, but with a little bit of a strong undertone._

"_No."_

"_Do you think any other rape victim you've ever met was weak?"_

"_No."_

"_So why are you so different?" _

* * *

_Gibbs' voice came over the line, saying, "Jenny? Jenny, you there?"_

"_Not exactly, Boss," Tony said softly. _

"_What does that mean, DiNozzo?" _

"_She's here. She can't answer, though."_

"_Well, why the hell not?"_

"_She's dead," he said finally, his voice barely a whisper._

"_What?" Gibbs asked._

"_She's dead, Gibbs," Tony said, his voice a little stronger as he scrubbed his hand over his face. _

"_You and Ziva okay?"_

"_We're fine. We… uh… we weren't there."_

* * *

"_Rough few days," Vance began. No one responded, so Vance continued. "Officer David. The liaison position with NCIS is being terminated. You're going home."_

_Ziva simply glanced at Gibbs, who clearly had no indication this was going to happen._

"_McGee," Vance continued. "I'm moving you across to the Cybercrimes Unit. You'll be working with Officer Hollister."_

_McGee also looked in shock at Gibbs, but said nothing._

"_Agent DiNozzo?" Vance said._

"_Sir?" Tony replied dismally._

"_You're being reassigned. Agent Afloat, USS Ronald Reagan. Pack your bags. You fly out tomorrow."_

_Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, saying nothing._

"_Agent Gibbs," Vance said in summation, taking the folders and walking around his desk. He handed them to Gibbs. "Meet your new team."_

* * *

_He sighed heavily. "I'm still a failure," he said softly. "I still love you guys. I still got Jenny killed."_

"_So, pretty much, everything," she said, her voice as soft as his._

_He nodded, saying nothing._

* * *

_With Langer dead, the mole problem was finished, thereby ending Vance's need for Ziva and McGee to be away. Both of them returned to Gibbs' team, at their usual desks in the squad room._

* * *

"_Tony!" she squealed. "You're back." She hugged him tightly._

"_In the flesh," he replied, wrapping his arms around her._

"_Like, for real? Like, total reals? Like pinky-promise-permanent reals?"_

_Tony took her outstretched pinky with his. "Reassigned to DC, effective immediately."_

* * *

"_It's my fault," Tony said, looking at Gibbs with a tired sadness. "It's all my fault."_

"_What is?"_

"_Everything. My sister's death, my mother's death, my father's death, me getting raped and tortured, Jenny's death, McGee and I getting drunk tonight. It's all my fault."_

* * *

"_What the hell were you doing?" Even though he was clearly still angry, Gibbs' voice was somewhat gentle._

"_Trying to kill myself, apparently," Tony muttered. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten so drunk that you had to pick me up at a bar."_

"_So, you do remember last night," Gibbs said._

"_Unfortunately."_

"_What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_Honestly?" Tony asked, finally picking his head up off the table._

"_That would be best," Gibbs grunted._

"_That I just wanted all of this to go away."_

* * *

_McGee swallowed. "I-I'm sorry, Tony," he stuttered._

"_What do you have to be sorry about, Tim?" Tony scoffed._

"_That we couldn't find you in time."_

_Tony shook his head sorrowfully. "Truth is, even if you guys did get there sooner, it wouldn't have made that much of a difference. It happened early and often."_

* * *

_Tony shrugged, looking up again. "Seems like that's all I got, unresolved issues. Issues I can't resolve."_

_Gibbs cleared his throat softly._

"_You'd think by now I'd be used to that idea. I can solve everyone else's problems, but for some reason, I can't ever fix my own."_

"_And if Ziva and I were there…"_

"_One or both of you could've died right along with her."_

"_Maybe that would've been better," Tony sighed, sitting on the floor._

"_You think that you dying with Jenny would've been better?" Gibbs shot back, trying to keep his anger in check and failing slightly._

"_Maybe."_

_Gibbs shrugged, walking toward where Tony had sat down. "You've convinced me. You got the gun. Go for it."_

* * *

"_Okay, fine, you proved your point." Tony closed his eyes, sighing softly. "I'm sorry."_

"_Tony," Gibbs started._

"_Right. Apologies."_

"_Don't give up."_

* * *

"_Special Agent Gibbs?"_

_Tony picked his head up to the young man standing at his desk. He quietly shook his head._

"_He's in with the director," Tony replied. "How can I help you?"_

"_I'm Special Agent Craig James. I've been TAD'd here."_

* * *

"_I only feel like I have to drink when I'm upset. But, that alone scares me."_

"_You're aware it could become a problem," Gibbs said._

"_Yeah," Tony breathed. "And I'm afraid it could get worse."_

* * *

"_I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Boss. And I can't really remember the last time I had any idea." Tony sneezed before coughing again. "It was definitely before this all happened. Before I was kidnapped. Maybe even before you left for Mexico."_

_Gibbs knit his brows together. "That was two years ago," he said softly._

"_I know it was," Tony said. "But… that was the last time I really felt like I had a handle on things. You leaving… it kind of started a spiral. And then, the way things went with Jeanne… and everything else last year… I haven't felt in control in a long time. No one really needs me, you know? Not like they did before."_

_Gibbs tilted his head to the side and back. "Team needs you."_

_Tony shook his head. "They need _you_. They've always needed you. When you left, the only thing I could do to get them to try to pay attention to me was to be like you." Tony coughed before shrugging. "Didn't really work for me like it did for you. It's not as effective when you've had the real deal."_

"_They still need you."_

_Tony frowned. "They need someone who does the job. And all I am right now is someone who loses it."_

_Gibbs leaned closer to Tony. "Tony, if I ever feel you're losing it, I'll take you out myself. You're doing fine. And the team does need you."_

* * *

"_Ducky, can I ask you something?"_

"_Of course," the older man replied gently._

"_How long will it take before I'm afraid to close my eyes? Before I stop seeing it in my nightmares? Before I can sleep peacefully again?"_

_Ducky frowned, thankful his back was to Tony so that the younger man didn't see his reaction. "I wish I had an answer for you," Ducky said regretfully._

_Tony exhaled through his nose sharply, nodding. "Yeah, me too."_

* * *

"_Boss, I can't get a hold of Tony," McGee said, looking up as Gibbs walked in._

"_He's taking some time off," Gibbs replied simply. "Grab your gear."_

"_For how long?" Ziva asked._

"_However long he needs. Let's go."_

* * *

"_He'll call when he's ready."_

* * *

**Now…**

_New York City, 2:04 a.m._

He shivered, running a hand through his short black hair. He pulled his jacket tighter, rubbing his hands together. It didn't matter how long he had lived here. He would never get used to the cold, winter nights.

"We've got something here," a uniformed officer called out. The officer was standing on a boat that was about fifty yards out into the water. "Call CSU, tow, and the coroner."

He sighed, grabbing his cell phone. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

About half an hour later, the man with the short black hair was still standing there, waiting. The tow truck was on its way, due to arrive within the hour. The coroner, too, was still about an hour away.

"Flack," a voice said behind him.

Detective Don Flack turned around. "Mornin', Mac," he said, greeting the older detective.

Detective Mac Taylor nodded. "What do we have?"

"Anonymous passerby called 911, reported a sinking car. Uniforms rolled on scene, found tire tracks in the snow belonging to one car. They taped it off and called in the divers, who found the car, body in the driver's seat. Tow truck should be here soon, coroner's about an hour away."

"Divers at least get us something to work with?"

Flack shook his head. "Not yet. They're working on it."

Mac nodded. "Danny's gonna meet us back at the lab. I'll get working on the tire treads."

"I'm gonna go see if anyone's got anything on our 911 caller."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the tow truck arrived, and the divers attached the chains to the back of the car. As the car was pulled out of the water, they identified it as a Blue Mustang, with Washington D.C. license plates. Flack copied down the number, and the car was towed back to the lab after the body was removed by the coroner.

* * *

"We got a hit off the plates," lab tech Adam Ross said, looking at Mac and Flack. "The car is registered to Anthony DiNozzo. He's a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"Is he the body?" Mac asked.

"No," Detective Danny Messer said. "Prints off the body came back to a George Petrie. He's an M.E's assistant now, but used to be a lab tech in Baltimore who was fired after making a mistake on a blood test. And guess who figured out he made the mistake?"

"Anthony DiNozzo."

"Exactly. Sid said our body was murdered, TOD undermined for now, but he estimates it was around the time the body went into the water."

"Are we thinkin' this Agent DiNozzo's our guy?" Flack asked.

"I'm not sure," Adam said. "The car was stolen two weeks ago."

"Where?" Mac asked.

"St. Louis, Missouri."

"Flack, get in touch with St. Louis PD, tell them we need that file. Adam, see if you can track down a phone number for Agent DiNozzo. We need to find out what really happened here."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. Thanks to all of you who alerted and/or reviewed this story so far! I truly appreciate it. And I know the first chapter was mostly flashbacks and NY, but this one's more NCIS. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 1: Where is Tony?

_Washington D.C._

Gibbs' phone rang, and the team leader looked down. The call wasn't coming from dispatch and he didn't recognize the number, so he smacked the button for speaker phone, just in case he needed McGee to trace it. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"_Agent Gibbs?"_ The voice was young and thick with a New York accent. _"This is Detective Don Flack, New York homicide."_

Ziva, McGee, and Craig looked up, worry etched into their features.

"What can I do for you, Detective?" Gibbs answered, keeping his calm while concern seeped in.

"_I'm looking for Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Is he there?"_

The junior agents allowed themselves a little relief. If the NYPD was _looking_ for him, that meant he was alive. The next question became, what did he do to get NYPD homicide after him?

"Why are you looking for him?" Gibbs asked.

"_Because I have questions for him,"_ Flack replied, a hint of impatience hidden in his voice.

"Questions related to…?"

Flack exhaled something akin to a grunt. _"His car. Is he there or not?"_

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope. DiNozzo is on vacation."

"_Do you know a number I can get in touch with him at? I've been calling his cell phone for the last hour and a half, and got nothing but his voicemail."_

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "What is this about, Detective?"

Flack sighed, annoyed._ "It's about a dead body that sank into the Hudson in his car."_

Ziva and McGee looked at each other before turning back to Gibbs.

"_So, maybe you might want to help us out and tell us where we can find him?"_

Gibbs twisted his head toward one side in an indifferent gesture. "Don't know. Haven't heard from him since he went on vacation."

Flack groaned softly. _"Fine. If you hear from him, let us know."_

"Who's the victim?"

"_Why?"_ Flack asked suspiciously.

Gibbs almost scoffed, but held his hand up dismissively. "Just trying to help, Detective."

Flack exhaled slowly, and Gibbs knew the young man was trying to keep his cool. _"Name's George Petrie. He worked with Agent DiNozzo in Baltimore."_

Gibbs looked at Ziva and McGee in time to see their realization. "Formerly George Stewart," the team leader said. "DiNozzo got him fired for a messed up blood test."

"_You know him?"_ Flack asked, surprised.

"He was a suspect of ours, about three years ago. Thought he framed DiNozzo for murder."

"_Well, he was the one murdered this time. Someone killed him, stuffed him in the front seat of Agent DiNozzo's car, and drove the car into the water."_

"And you think it was Tony?"

Flack scoffed. _"You tell me."_

Gibbs shook his head, even though Flack couldn't see. "DiNozzo's not a killer. And he has no reason to want George Stewart dead."

Flack sighed softly. _"Yeah, we didn't make him for this. We know his car was stolen two weeks ago. I'm waiting for St. Louis to get back to me with the report. Is there anyone out there who would want to frame Agent DiNozzo?"_

McGee looked at Ziva after an amused snort.

Gibbs somewhat snorted. "That's not a short list."

"_Any chance we can get your help here, then?"_ Flack's voice sounded hopeful, and the three junior agents looked at Gibbs.

"We'll be up as soon as we can."

"_Thanks."_

* * *

_New York City_

Flack walked into Mac's office. "Still no answer on Agent DiNozzo's phone," he reported as Mac looked up from a file. "I got in touch with his team leader, Agent Gibbs, a little while ago. He said they haven't heard from Agent DiNozzo, but there's apparently a long list of people who could want to frame him for murder. They're heading up to assist us, should be here soon."

Mac nodded. "The water compromised any prints or trace that was in the car," he told Flack. "Ballistics came back, unknown weapon."

"So, not Agent DiNozzo's service weapon."

"No, and as far as we can tell, he has no other weapon registered to him. St. Louis get back to you?"

"They faxed it over about an hour ago. Says here he checked in to his hotel in the downtown area around 9:00, took his things up to his room. When he got up the next morning, his car was gone."

"Anything in it?"

Flack shook his head. "His badge and gun were up in his room with him, as was his bag. Report says, and I quote, 'the only thing worth stealing in the car was the car itself.'"

"Did he notice anything unusual?" Mac asked.

"No," Flack replied. "Hotel has security videos, but they aren't clear enough to tell who's stealing the car, and St. Louis hasn't had that much time to process them. The guy I spoke to said that the day the car was stolen, they caught a priority homicide, followed by the emergence of a serial killer."

"A GTA falls down the list," Mac said with a knowing tone.

Flack nodded. "Maybe Adam can have some better luck with it."

"When does it get here?"

"Already emailed it to him."

"Good. We need as much information as we can get before NCIS takes over."

Flack arched his eyebrows. "What makes you think they'll take over?"

Mac looked at him. "As long as their agent's car is our crime scene, they'll want to be involved. That, and I know Agent Gibbs."

Flack eyed Mac curiously. "You serve with him?"

"No, but I know people who did."

Flack nodded.

"When his people are involved, there's nothing he won't do," Mac said.

Flack smirked. "Sounds like someone else I know," he remarked as Adam walked into the office.

"I haven't gotten the video done yet," he said. "But I do have something else. Danny found a set of handcuffs underneath the passenger's seat. They match the ligature marks on our victim's wrists."

"So our vic was bound with them," Flack said. "Can we trace them?"

"They're part of a set of shackles. Someone took the chains off and turned them into a pair of handcuffs."

"Do we have a who?"

Adam sighed. "Working on that. There was blood on the inside part, possibly from whoever was wearing them before our victim, and it survived the water. I'm running the DNA now."

"Good," Mac said. "Let me know when you get the results."

"You got it, Boss." Adam left the room, and Flack turned to Mac.

"I'm gonna try getting in touch with Agent DiNozzo again," Flack said. "See if I can't find him."

"You don't need to," a new voice said as a man stood in the doorway. Flack and Mac turned to see the lean, 6'1" frame belonging to the voice. "Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. I believe you found my car."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. Thanks for all the alerts and favorites, but can you please drop a short review? I like to know what everyone thinks, since that's what keeps me motivated to keep going. Please. Anyway, there's more of the NCIS crew in this chapter (because I realize the first two chapters were very CSI:NY heavy), so I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please please please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 2: "Who Framed You?"

_New York City_

Mac and Flack eyed Tony warily as the agent leaned against the doorframe. "How'd you get up here?" Flack asked.

"Showed my badge," Tony replied, shrugging. "Which one of you is Detective Flack?"

"Me."

Tony nodded. "I tried you at your desk, but Detective… uh… Angell, I think she said her name was, real pretty girl, anyway, she said you were up here with Detective Taylor."

Flack glanced at Mac before staring at Tony.

"So, do you want to arrest me or interrogate me? What's the game plan?"

"We have a few questions for you," Mac said. "Come on in, have a seat."

Tony nodded again, stepping into the office. "Glass walls, huh?" he commented as he pushed the door closed. "Kinda like being sent to the principal's office when you get in trouble."

"You get in trouble a lot?" Flack asked.

Tony smirked. "Nice, Detective. I try not to, but it always seems to find me." Tony scratched his chin, which had about a week's worth of stubble on it.

"Your office said you're on vacation."

Tony paled slightly, something the other two noticed. "You called my boss?" he asked.

"You didn't answer your phone," Flack replied.

Tony shrugged. "It was turned off. I've been keeping it turned off because I'm on vacation. I only turned it on to check my messages about three hours ago."

"And you just… conveniently happen to be nearby where your car is found?"

Tony sighed. "I was visiting with a few friends in Philadelphia. I used to work there."

Flack turned to Mac skeptically. "That sound convenient to you, Mac?"

"Go ahead and check, Detective. Or, maybe I should be asking you what it is that you found in my car that's making you two ask all these questions."

"Apparently, George Stewart," Gibbs said as he appeared in the doorway. The three men in the office turned to find Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Craig, and Abby standing there.

"Gibbs… you… brought the whole team," Tony commented softly, looking at his hands.

"Did you think we were going to let someone else try to frame you for murder?" Abby asked, rushing past the others and throwing her arms around Tony. "Why haven't you called me lately?"

"Dead phone," Tony replied, patting her arm.

Abby punched him gently. "How many times do I have to tell you this? Never lie to a woman, Anthony DiNozzo."

Mac and Flack looked at one another.

"Agent Gibbs," Flack said, stepping forward and offering his hand. "Detective Flack."

Gibbs shook the proffered hand. "Agent McGee," he said, gesturing at McGee. "Agent James. Officer David. Abby Sciuto, our lab tech. Doctor Mallard is downstairs with your Doctor Hammerback."

"Detective Mac Taylor," Mac said, stepping forward and shaking Gibbs' hand. "Welcome to New York."'

Gibbs nodded. "What can you tell us?"

"Apparently, whoever stole my car dropped it into the Hudson," Tony commented casually from the couch.

Adam rushed in. "Mac, I got something, and it's huge," he said excitedly. "Like, really huge."

"You got the DNA?" Flack asked.

"Not yet. But it's just as huge." Adam rushed out, causing the others to look at Mac.

"Let's go," Mac said, gesturing for the gang to follow Adam.

"Okay, so I've been working on clarifying the security tapes that St. Louis sent us, and I got a face," Adam said as everyone entered the lab. "So, I ran it against mug shots, specifically people that Agent DiNozzo arrested, and I got a hit. Charles Starling, arrested by NCIS three years ago."

Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Tony, and Abby shared a look.

"I take it that's another familiar name?" Flack asked.

"He was the one who really screwed up the blood test," Abby said. "He got George fired. Three years ago, he tried to frame George for framing Tony for murder. When that didn't work, he…"

"Okay, enough with the history lesson there, Abs," Tony said. "It's easier to just say that Chip hates my guts."

"What did he do?" Mac asked, his voice somewhat harsh.

"I'm guessing he broke out of prison," Tony replied, purposefully ignoring the direction Mac was trying to go with the questioning.

"Is that all?"

Gibbs moved to stand between Mac and Tony.

Adam noticed Abby over the tension. "Hey, uh, you're Abby Scuito, right?" he asked. "Forensic specialist?" At her nod, Adam continued. "Think you might be able to help out with some of the evidence?"

"Uh, sure," she said, making her way out of the A/V lab with him.

Ziva moved to stand beside Gibbs while McGee and Craig stayed where they were, watching Mac and Flack.

"Before we actually get into this pissing contest," Tony said, moving from behind Gibbs and Ziva. "You got questions, Detective Taylor? Ask them. Otherwise, I might be inclined to go find Abby."

"Okay," Mac said, holding his ground but facing Tony. "What is it that you're hiding?"

Tony inhaled deeply. "Chip hired a guy, Richard Waters, who, in turn, got a crew to kidnap and torture me. Said crew failed in their duty to kill me. I'm sure Chipper just wants some revenge… again."

"Sounds like you made quite an impression on him," Flack remarked.

"Well, yeah," Tony retorted. "I only got him fired, you know? Crack police work there."

"All I'm sayin' is, I've never pissed off someone bad enough that they try to frame me for murder twice and come after me."

"At least, none that have ever managed to get out of prison."

Flack shifted his weight, but said nothing.

"Isn't that it, Detective?" Tony continued. "All your enemies are still behind bars. Actually, I'm surprised at that, really. Because I would think the Wilder family would have a bit of a beef with you."

Flack narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Yes, I do actually read _New York Times_," Tony said, smirking. "And, I'm being mostly serious here when I say, 'good job.' I know how hard it can be to bring down a crime family. Which, I'm glad this wasn't them coming back after me. Chip's easy to handle, easy to figure out. Where's Ducky when you need him?"

"Autopsy," Craig said.

Tony turned around to look at Craig. "You know, I'm not surprised Ziva and McGee came. Abby was a little surprising, but I don't know if the bigger shocker is that you or Ducky came."

He smiled. "What can I say? I liked working with you."

Tony turned back to Flack with a big grin plastered on his face. "See? I'm not all bad."

Ziva and Gibbs smirked as McGee chuckled lightly.

"I never said you were, Agent DiNozzo," Flack said, rolling his eyes.

"You know, for someone who does not believe Tony did this, you are certainly acting like you think he did," Ziva said, looking at Flack.

"I'm guessing smart ass is just the way you handle interrogations?" Tony suggested.

"Something like that," Flack replied.

Tony shrugged. "Hey, so long as it works. So, Detective Angell's your partner, huh?"

Flack looked at Mac.

"Ahh, avoidance," Tony commented. "That's a big yes. And also a hint at something else."

Flack looked back to Tony.

"I'm making you want to kill me, aren't I?"

"No, not really," Flack said, shrugging. "I'm gonna go see what I can dig up about Charles Starling." Flack walked away, and Tony turned to Mac.

"Was it something I said?" he joked.

"You are playing with bees," Ziva said, glaring at him.

Tony sighed. "Fire, Ziva."

"Bees sting, yes?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then isn't playing with bees just as bad?"

"She has a point," McGee said.

"Whose side are you on, Probie?" Tony asked.

Ziva smiled.

Mac looked at Gibbs, who nodded. The two men walked out of the room, leaving the other agents alone.

* * *

"What is it?" Gibbs asked, following Mac into his office.

"I'm getting the feeling there's more to this story than we're being told," Mac said.

Gibbs gave a slight shake of his head. "Not my story. DiNozzo's."

Mac nodded. "Fair enough."

Gibbs nodded, noting Mac's service picture on the wall. "Marine?"

"Yeah. 1/8."

"Desert Storm?"

"Beirut."

Gibbs nodded. "1/1. Sniper division."

"Beirut?"

"Desert Storm."

Mac nodded. "Explains why your whole team shares your sense of loyalty, and why all of them came up here."

Gibbs shrugged indifferently.

"Why hasn't Agent DiNozzo been taking any calls lately?" Mac asked, getting back on topic.

"You'd have to ask him," Gibbs replied.

"Would he give me a straight answer?"

Gibbs chuckled. "He's not one for straight answers."

Mac nodded. "I sensed that. Seems like a good man, though, and perhaps an even better agent."

Gibbs didn't react.

"Why would Charles Starling go to such great lengths to get back at Tony?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Gonna have to ask him that question."

* * *

"He's irritating."

Detective Jessica Angell smiled. "Because he's turning your interrogation against you?" she asked.

Flack glared at her.

"Lighten up, Don," she said playfully before turning serious. "If this… Starling guy really is after Agent DiNozzo, we have to help him."

Flack grumbled. "That's what NCIS is for."

"And we have to work with them to get this guy. Especially if he killed George Petrie."

"He's irritating," he repeated.

"Hmm. Reminds me of you."

Flack glared again, and Angell smiled sweetly. "I'm searching this Starling guy through everything- nothing's hitting yet. If he is here in New York, I don't know where."

"Maybe he's not in New York," she said.

"That doesn't make sense," he countered. "He dropped Agent DiNozzo's car into the Hudson. He knew that we would end up bringing DiNozzo here."

"So, he's hiding out and waiting for DiNozzo?"

Flack nodded, indicating that's what he was thinking. "But where?"

Angell tilted her head before smiling slightly. "Have City Surveillance patch tapes to Adam. Maybe he can get something for us."

Flack smiled, nodding. "Good idea."

"What would you do without me?" Angell said casually, walking away.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: See first chapter for the disclaimer. Greg Sanders (who is mentioned here) is from CSI (the original), and I don't own him or the show. In real life (or, well, CSI-realm), Greg and Adam don't actually know each other. I'm just going to keep updating and hope you guys actually like it... I could ask you guys for a certain number of reviews before updating, but that's never been my style. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review for me. :)

* * *

Chapter 3: Of Friends and Ex-Partners

Adam normally hated working with others in his lab. It seemed like no one else would ever put things back where they belonged, they'd leave horrible messes for Adam to clean up, and basically treated him like the lowest man on the pole when there were plenty of others who had been there less time than him.

It aggravated him to no end.

But Abby was different. She didn't just jump in and make a mess of the place. She took the time to take note of where things were. When Adam mentioned it to her, she simply said, "I know how I get when people mess up my lab."

Adam smiled.

"So, what other evidence is there really to deal with?" she asked after her inventory.

"Uh, well there's… and there's… there's not much really," Adam conceded. "The DNA's still running. Any prints or trace were compromised by the water."

"Even your DNA sample might have been."

"We found it on an inside part of the cuff, an area the water didn't touch."

She nodded. "Could be a tough sell."

He shrugged playfully. "That's Danny's problem."

She smiled. "So, I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," Adam replied nervously. "I know I've at least been to conferences where you've talked at before. I, uh, I think we met once in Vegas."

Abby narrowed her eyes, studying Adam for the moment. "I think I remember."

"My best friend since college, Greg, he called you over."

"Greg. Greg Sanders, Vegas Crime Lab?"

Adam nodded.

"Oh, I know him pretty well. He's a really nice guy. I've talked to him a few times at different conferences. Exchange holiday and birthday cards with him. In fact, I just got a card from him a few weeks ago… Greg Sanders."

"That's a name I recognize too," Tony said as he entered the lab.

Abby looked critically at Tony. "How do you know him?" she asked.

"He's the one who told me when my old partner died."

Abby frowned. "You never told me that Greg was the one who called you."

Tony shrugged. "I didn't know you knew him."

"Yeah. He used to be a DNA tech before moving into the field." She looked over at Adam. "How long ago did he do that?"

Adam sighed, looking up at the ceiling as he thought. "I don't know," he said. "I think he was officially a CSI starting four years ago, but I know he was in training for about a year before that."

"Takes him a year to train?" Tony said.

"His primary role was still DNA."

Tony nodded.

"Where are the others?" Abby asked.

"Craig went down to talk to Ducky and Dr. Hammerback," Tony said. "I think Ziva and McGee went to talk to another detective… Danny, I think he said his name was."

"Danny Messer," Adam said.

Tony looked at him.

"What?" Adam asked.

"Nothing," Tony replied, shaking his head.

Adam looked questioningly to Abby.

"Hey Adam," Flack said as he poked his head into the lab.

"What's up?" Adam replied.

"City Surveillance is sending over some tapes. Think you can search them for Charles Starling?"

Adam grimaced slightly. "How many tapes?"

Flack smirked. "I thought you liked a challenge."

Adam shrugged. "I'm on it."

"I can help," Abby said with a smile.

"McGeek could too," Tony threw in. "I'll have him meet you guys there."

"Okay." Abby walked out of the lab, heading toward A/V. Adam stayed behind for a moment while Flack and Tony eyed each other warily.

"You're still trying to figure out whether or not I did it," Tony said, fumbling with his phone.

Flack shrugged, but said nothing.

"You called Philly yet?"

"You didn't give me any names," Flack said casually.

"You didn't ask," Tony remarked, just as casually.

The printer hummed, and Adam silently thanked whoever was looking out for him that he could get out of that tension as he grabbed the sheet that the machine spit out. "Our blood sample comes back to Charles Starling," he announced, handing the paper to Flack before quickly walking out of the room.

Flack and Tony stared at each other for a moment before walking off toward Mac's office.

* * *

The two former Marines turned around as the door to Mac's office opened. "Adam got a hit on our blood," Flack said, passing the paper off to Mac.

"Chip," Gibbs said without looking at it.

"Yep. He escaped from prison about three weeks ago."

Gibbs looked over at Tony, who leaned against the doorframe silently.

"I got City Surveillance to send us some tapes, see if we can't find where our guy is hiding in New York," Flack finished.

"That's a good idea," Mac said.

"It was Angell's, actually."

"The pretty one?" Tony said, smirking as Flack got slightly flustered.

"Adam's workin' on them with…" Flack said, trying to think of her name.

"Abby."

"Tell McGee…" Gibbs started.

"To meet them there," Tony finished. "Already done."

Mac and Flack looked at each other.

"He teaches us to anticipate," Tony said, explaining for the unasked question.

"I'm gonna see if I can't dig up something else," Flack said, walking out of the room.

"I'm gonna go find Ziva."

"Actually, Agent DiNozzo, if it's alright with you, I have a few more questions," Mac said.

"Sure, Detective Taylor," Tony said. "But… please call me Tony."

"Mac." Mac gestured for Tony to sit down again, and the younger man obliged as Gibbs sat down next to him. Mac leaned against his desk.

"What's up?"

"Can I ask you for more information about what happened when you were kidnapped?"

Tony looked over at Gibbs, who shook his head but said nothing.

"Perhaps you should ask my therapist," Tony said, turning his attention back to Mac.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Mac assured him.

Tony looked back to Gibbs.

"It's your choice," Gibbs said softly. "No one's making you do anything here."

Tony nodded, licking his lips.

"We can always go back to that, if you want," Mac said.

"You have other questions?" Tony asked.

"Why have you kept your phone off?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just… I wanted to get away from it all while I was on vacation. Not that I have anything against anyone I work with… I love them all. I just… I needed a break."

Gibbs stared at Tony with a disbelieving look, but held his tongue.

"I can understand that," Mac said.

Tony nodded.

"Why would Charles Starling want to frame you again?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know for sure. I guess I must have really pissed him off in Baltimore, worse than I thought. Or maybe he blames me for being in prison. I don't know."

"Something else happen in Baltimore?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked over at him. "No, Boss," he answered.

"How about after you left?"

Tony shook his head again. "Nothing with Chip. I mean, people come and go. Like Mike."

"Mike?" Mac asked.

"Mike Keppler," Tony answered. "And the only reason I said anything was because Abby and… Adam were talking earlier about the kid who told me about Mike's death. Mike doesn't have anything to do with this, though. I mean, unless Chip really hated reverse forensics and knew that Mike used to be my partner."

"Reverse forensics?" Gibbs ventured.

"Believe me, Boss, I don't get it either. It was something Mike did after I left."

"Fake a crime scene to bring the suspect out of hiding," Mac said.

"You've heard of it?" Tony asked.

"Adam mentioned it. Happened where his friend worked."

"Friend named Greg Sanders?"

Mac nodded.

Tony snorted slightly. "That would've been Mike."

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Mike tried it three places- Baltimore, Vegas, and Philly," Tony explained.

"You ever involved?" Mac asked.

"No. Like I said, he did it after I left Philly. And he wasn't even in Baltimore until after I was at NCIS."

"Was Charles still in Baltimore at the time?"

"I don't think so. And I don't really think that Chip would want to get back at me for something Mike did. I don't even think Chip would know that Mike was even my partner."

"You were his emergency contact," Gibbs reminded.

Tony shrugged. "True. But I don't think Chip knew that. _I_ didn't even know that until the kid… Greg… called me."

Gibbs didn't say anything.

Mac's phone rang, and he moved to answer it. After a short conversation, he said, "That was the Chief of Detectives. If you'll excuse me."

"Sure," Gibbs said.

Tony stood up, quickly making his way out of Mac's office. Gibbs and Mac both followed, with Mac walking toward the stairs. Gibbs grabbed Tony's elbow, leading him to the elevator. Once they were inside, Gibbs flipped the switch.

"You know, somehow I don't think the NYPD will understand this," Tony commented.

"What aren't you saying?" Gibbs asked.

"What makes you think I'm not saying something?"

Gibbs stared at him.

Tony sighed, knowing he was beat. "Okay. I turned my phone off because Chip called me."

Gibbs felt like head slapping Tony right then and there, but held back.

"About two weeks ago, after my car was stolen. He didn't say anything about stealing it or anything. I didn't know that."

"What _did_ he say?"

"That he would find me, and finish what he started."

"Why?"

Tony shrugged, slinking against the back of the elevator. "I really, really wish I knew what I did to piss him off this badly."

Gibbs frowned slightly as Tony took a bit of a defensive position, but he didn't soften much. "Why didn't you come to me?"

Tony sighed quietly. "Because I don't need you to fight my battles, Gibbs. I can handle this."

Gibbs gave a minor shake of his head. "Not saying you can't."

Tony looked at the side of the elevator away from Gibbs. "I know you want to help but… you really can't. Because the only way this'll ever end is if either Chip or me dies."

Gibbs sighed, knowing Tony was right.

* * *

Detective Stella Bonasera caught up to Danny as he sat behind his desk, discussing a case with a pretty girl. "What's up with the elevator?" she asked, annoyed.

Danny looked over at it before shrugging. "Beats me," he said.

The other girl in the room smiled slightly. "I believe Gibbs needed an office," she said.

"What?"

"That is where Gibbs talks to people in private in our offices. I imagine he is doing the same here. Perhaps with Tony."

"Uhh… who are Tony and Gibbs?" Stella asked.

Danny smirked. "You've been at court too long," he said. "First of all, Detective Stella Bonasera, Officer Ziva David, NCIS."

"NCIS?"

"Naval Criminal…" Ziva started.

"I know what NCIS is," Stella said softly. "I'm just wondering what brings you to our jurisdiction."

"You heard about the car we pulled out of the Hudson this morning?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, it was on the news."

"Car belonged to an NCIS agent, Anthony DiNozzo."

Stella narrowed her eyes slightly. "Name sounds familiar."

"Apparently he's been around. Body in it was an M.E.'s assistant from D.C., who used to work in a lab in Baltimore until Agent DiNozzo got him fired. Our primary suspect is Charles Starling, another person who used to work with Agent DiNozzo. We're trying to track him, but not having much luck."

Stella huffed lightly, thinking. "City Surveillance?"

"Adam's on it with…"

"Abby and McGee," Ziva supplied.

"Your entire team is here," Stella observed.

"Yes. Gibbs and Tony are likely in the elevator, and Craig is in autopsy with Ducky and Dr. Hammerback."

"We're not anymore," Craig said as he walked in with Ducky and Dr. Sid Hammerback.

"I see Jethro's taken over the elevator," Ducky commented.

"Jethro?" Stella asked.

"Agent Gibbs."

"Dr. Mallard, Agent James, Officer David, Detective Bonasera, Dr. Hammerback," Danny introduced.

"Perhaps we should make you the official introducer, yes?" Ziva teased Danny lightly.

Danny smirked. "Yeah, I'm good with names. Do we have a time of death?"

"Between midnight and 1 a.m.," Sid said.

"911 got the call when?" Craig asked.

"Uh…" Danny started, flipping through papers on his desk. "1:24 a.m."

"How long does it take a car to sink into the Hudson?"

"Depends on the weight of the car," Stella said.

"We can get Adam to do an accident reconstruction," Danny suggested.

"Abigail can help with that," Ducky said.

"They are already scanning surveillance videos," Ziva said.

"We can take the video," Danny said. "Stell, you in?"

"I've got another case going to trial tomorrow that I've gotta prep for," she said. "I'll come by when I'm done."

"Fantastic."

"Lindsay should be free to help."

Danny nodded, standing. "Let's go."


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: See first chapter for the disclaimer. I'm thankful for all of you that reviewed or commented recently. It means a lot to me. Thank you. So, this chapter's a little more of the team melding. Adam references the CSI:NY episode "Turbulence" from Season 5 and the CSI episode "Unfriendly Skies" from Season 1. I hope you guys enjoy, and please review. :D

* * *

Chapter 4: "I'll Get You… Oh, Yes…. You Will Be Mine."

"So, what _is_ your forte?" Abby asked Adam casually as she searched the tapes with McGee.

"Anything and everything," Adam replied, shrugging. "Actually, though, the team runs a bunch of their own samples too."

She spun quickly to look at him, as did McGee. "Really?"

"Uh… yeah. They're all certified to do it, so they process some of their own evidence."

"Do you, like, ever do their job in the field?"

Adam shrugged. "Sometimes."

She tilted her head slightly. "Really. Okay, then. What's the weirdest place you've ever had to search?"

Adam thought for a moment before wrinkling his nose. "I had to search an airplane bathroom."

"Okay, that's gross."

McGee laughed. "So, they give you the probie jobs, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Adam said.

"Find anything good?" Abby asked.

"Actually, I did find a clue down there- a condom. And a condom wrapper. The condom's DNA was toast, but the wrapper's lipstick and DNA were still in play. But it was gross."

She laughed softly. "An airplane bathroom. Commercial airline?"

"Yeah. A federal marshal was murdered in the bathroom. Actually, he was a hijacker posing as a federal marshal. He had already killed the federal marshal in the marshal's hotel room."

"Huh," Abby said. "And Homeland Security didn't get involved?"

"They did," Adam replied. "But since they also thought it was an isolated incident, they were willing to let us run the investigation. Of course, they also let all of our suspects go first."

"Didn't Greg say something about a time when the FBI wouldn't arrest the murderers in a murder on a plane?"

"Who's Greg?" McGee asked.

"Yeah, like… nine or so years ago," Adam said. "Some of his colleagues took it badly, but… I mean, it's hard to arrest a mob who were acting in what they felt was their own best interest, you know?"

"I guess," Abby said, shrugging.

"Who's Greg?" McGee asked again.

"He's a CSI for Vegas."

"My best friend," Adam added.

Danny and Ziva walked into A/V. "Adam, we need you to work on a reconstruction for us," Danny started as Craig made his way in to join them all.

"Flack's got me scanning surveillance tapes."

"Yeah, well, we'll take those on. We need to know how fast Agent DiNozzo's car would sink into the Hudson with George Petrie inside."

"Perhaps you can assist him, Abby?" Ziva asked.

Abby looked at Adam. "It's up to you," she said.

"I would never turn down assistance with reconstructions," Adam said with a smile.

Abby smiled, and the two of them moved to a different computer in the lab.

"What do we have goin' on here?" Danny asked McGee.

"Abby, Adam, and I created a program to automatically scan the tapes Detective Flack sent over for any sign of Chip's face," McGee replied.

"You can do that?"

McGee nodded. "It's all about getting the correct biometrics, and using the right algorithms…"

"Enough of the geek speak," Tony said as he walked in.

"Gibbs finally let you out of the elevator, yes?" Ziva said.

Tony looked at her, but said nothing.

"You were serious about the elevator?" Danny asked, looking at Ziva.

"Pretty much," McGee said.

"Anything, McGee?" Tony asked.

"Nothing yet. There are a lot of tapes to go through, though."

"McGee, how far back into the history of a cell phone can you go?" Gibbs asked as he walked in.

"Depends on the phone, the memory card, the provider…" McGee said.

"See if you can go back two weeks on DiNozzo's number."

Tony sighed, looking over at Gibbs.

"What exactly am I looking for?" McGee asked, getting to work on another computer in the lab.

"Chip contacted me two weeks ago," Tony regretfully admitted, causing everyone in the lab to look at him.

"You've been holding out on us," Craig commented.

Tony raised and lowered his eyebrows. "You have no idea."

Abby moved away from the desk where she had been working with Adam to reach out and hug Tony, who wrapped his arms around her.

"Why do I get the feeling there is something more you are not telling us?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs and Tony looked at one another.

"I got it," McGee said. "Blocked number came in two weeks ago."

"Unblock it," Gibbs said.

"I did. It's a cell phone, unregistered, probably a pay as you go phone that was bought with cash."

"Can we trace it?" Tony asked.

"The call was made from St. Louis," McGee said. "But there's no GPS chip or anything. The only way we can find him now with this…"

"Is if he calls back." Tony sighed, detangling himself from Abby and sitting down in one of the chairs. "I have a feeling he will. And when he does, it won't be to gloat about killing George Stewart."

"What does your gut tell you it'll be about?" Craig asked.

Tony just looked at him.

* * *

Flack looked at Mac as the older man left the office of Chief Brigham Sinclair. "On your ass about the NCIS case?" Flack asked.

"That and the budget," Mac replied. "What do we have on the case?"

"Besides a feeling that NCIS is hiding something from us?"

"According to Agent Gibbs, that's personal to Agent DiNozzo."

Flack scoffed lightly. "Of course."

"I didn't get much more out of Agent DiNozzo before Chief Sinclair called me away. He mostly talked about one of his old partners in Philadelphia…"

"Michael Keppler," Flack said. "Yeah, I've been doing a little digging into Agent DiNozzo." Flack held up the file in his hands. "Glowing reviews from his colleagues and superiors, despite his immature and inappropriate nature. In fact, apparently his nature has been helpful in solving cases and uncovering clues. He has done extensive undercover work, bringing down a notorious crime boss in Baltimore and an arms dealer for NCIS. Keeps in touch with many of his former colleagues, left on good terms with almost every place and partner."

"How many places?" Mac asked.

"Four- Peoria, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and NCIS. Did a brief tenure as Agent Afloat last year, but for the most part he has been stationed in the Navy Yard. That's the good stuff. He's also had quite a run of bad luck, and his jacket is also full of on-duty incidents. DiNozzo's been shot, stabbed, kidnapped, beaten, and, you're not going to believe this, but he's also had the plague."

Mac looked at Flack slightly incredulously.

Flack shook his head. "Dead serious. DiNozzo's also been framed for murder twice, not including this time. Charles Starling framed him the first time, but the second was for the murder of Rene Benoit, better known as international arms dealer La Grenouille.

"Part of it isn't just bad luck as much as it was using himself to save others," Flack continued. "At least, that's what Captain Derrick Teague of Baltimore PD wrote. And I quote, 'Detective DiNozzo will stop at nothing to bring justice to deserving families, even if it means sacrificing his own well-being.'"

"Quite a bit of background," Mac observed.

Flack nodded. "And none of it even remotely suggests that he could be a part of this."

"That what you were looking for?" Mac asked, somewhat amused.

Flack raised and lowered one shoulder. "He's irritating," he replied.

"Huh. He reminds me of you."

Flack snorted lightly. "Jess said the same thing."

Mac smiled. "I didn't make Agent DiNozzo for being involved. Why would a guy drive his own car into the Hudson, without trying to remove identification?"

"Yeah, but I think we have something else here. Anthony DiNozzo's father? Vincent DiNozzo."

"There's a name I recognize."

Flack nodded. "Now, as you know, Vincent died eight or so years ago, and ever since, there's been a power struggle. The most recent don has been Stephan Marchetti, who…"

"Was Vincent's nephew."

"Right. Now, according to my informants, Stephan and Agent DiNozzo were best friends growing up, almost like brothers. Stephan was always over the house, because Stephan was more of the son Vincent wanted, as opposed to DiNozzo, who more or less followed along the path that his mother wanted him to until the day she died. Stephan and DiNozzo had a falling out when DiNozzo decided to not go into the family business, and most of the rest of the business shunned him as well."

"And you're thinking that Stephan is trying to assert his muscle by taking out Tony."

Flack half-nodded and half-shrugged. "Now that Agent DiNozzo's here in New York, Charles Starling is nowhere to be found. I'm thinking maybe Stephan hired Charles to lure Agent DiNozzo here so that Stephan can have the final showdown."

"I think Charles has unfinished business also."

Flack smirked slightly. "I have another theory there. Charles took a job at NCIS to frame DiNozzo for murder. Because of that, Charles was sent to prison, and got his revenge on DiNozzo by hiring Richard Waters. But DiNozzo wasn't the only person who was responsible for Charles going to prison."

Mac nodded. "So, Charles could have lured Tony here in order to draw out the rest of the team. But who's he going after?"

* * *

Abby whirled around after a moment. "We got it," she said, smiling. "Adam is amazing at this."

"Not as good as you," Adam said sheepishly.

Abby smiled. "Okay, so according to reports, the car went into the water somewhere not far from the scene. Given how far it went into the water, the depths of the tire tracks…"

"Abs," Gibbs cut in.

"Our car had to have been going at least 30 miles an hour when it went into the water," she said.

"And since the reports say that the doors were closed," Adam started.

"It's safe to say the car went in with a brick or something on the accelerator."

"Which was not recovered from the scene."

"Probably because when the car hit the bottom, it became dislodged from the gas pedal."

"It's probably still in the car."

"It wasn't a brick, it was a rock," a woman said as she walked in.

"Detective Lindsay Monroe, Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, James, Officer David, and Abby Sciuto," Danny introduced.

"It's nice to meet you all. I found it under the front seat of the car. I doubt we're going to get anything off of it. The water pretty much ruined any chance of that happening."

"Damn."

"Back to your original question, Craig," Abby said. "The area of the river that the car went into has a shallow bottom. It would've only taken a few minutes to sink all the way."

"And the area around the crash site is usually pretty deserted that time of night," Adam said.

"So it's likely that whoever called it in was the one who put the car into the water."

"We should pull the 911 tapes, figure out who it was that made that call," Craig said.

Tony sighed softly, looking at Gibbs. "Something's wrong with this picture," he blurted out.

"What?" Adam asked nervously.

"You said that the only car at the scene was mine. And that particular road is deserted at night."

"Uh, yeah."

"So if my car went into the river, how did whoever put it there get away from the scene?"

"He walked?" Abby suggested.

"If that were the case, then our officers would've seen him on the road," Lindsay said, rubbing a hand over her protruding, pregnant belly.

Gibbs looked over at Tony, who looked at the ground regretfully. The older agent exhaled softly. "Then that means, it's likely there's someone else involved in this," he said.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. All of the things Stella lists off are things that happened CSI:NY. Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing! I've been having a bit of a tough time lately, so hearing from all of you means a lot. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and please review!

* * *

Chapter 5: "Just How Many People Have You Pissed Off?"

"Who has had contact with Chip in the last few months?" Gibbs asked as Ducky, Detective Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, and Sid joined the group, which had now relocated to the conference room.

McGee typed into the computer for a moment. "A few different people," he said. "Only one came twice- Domenico Salve."

Tony groaned softly.

"Recognize the name?" Gibbs asked.

"One of my father's associates," Tony replied grimly. "Last I knew, he was a lower level guy."

"Now he's right-hand man to Stephan Marchetti," Flack said as he walked in with Mac.

Tony scoffed. "That explains how Chip got out of jail and my car got jacked. Stephan's got a lot of friends in high places all over the country."

"Including you?"

"I thought you were over blaming me for this," Tony said.

"It's more fun to push your buttons," Flack replied, smirking.

"I see you've moved onto a 'two can play that game' thing."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs cut in.

"Shutting up, Boss," Tony replied.

"Stephan Marchetti."

"My cousin on my father's side. We were close as kids, but had a falling out."

"Just how many people have you pissed off?" Craig asked curiously.

Tony snorted lightly. "I lost count a long time ago," he said.

"You really do have a way with people, huh?" McGee teased.

"Not the time, Probie."

"Where would we find Stephan?" Gibbs asked curtly.

"Probably at the headquarters in Long Island," Tony replied.

"We have another theory," Mac said.

"If Charles and Stephan are working hand-in-hand, then Charles stole DiNozzo's car to lure him here and to draw you all out," Flack said. "And if that's the case, Charles' part is done. So, if he is still hanging around, who would he be going after?"

The eyes of Team Gibbs fell upon Abby. "Why would he go after me?" she asked. "I'm not Tony."

"No, but you were the one who proved me innocent and that Chipper framed me," Tony said.

Abby frowned, reaching out and hugging Adam, if for no other reason than he was standing next to her. Adam was slightly taken aback, but hugged her gently.

"He's not going to get you, Abs," Tony assured her, standing and starting to walk toward her.

"Well, if they get you, then they'll get me," she said.

"They're not gonna get me. Are you kidding me? Gibbs won't let them."

"They got you before."

"That's different."

"How was that different?"

"They nabbed me from a crime scene. Since, I'm technically still on leave, I shouldn't be working on crime scenes."

"Neither of you goes anywhere alone," Gibbs ordered.

"We'll stay here as much as possible," Tony said, reaching over and putting his hand on Abby's shoulder. Abby let go of Adam to latch onto Tony, who responded by hugging her, rubbing her back gently, and resting his chin on top of her head. "Don't worry, Abs. I'll kill Chip if he tries to hurt you."

"I don't doubt that," she said softly.

"Well… I think after this, he'd have it coming."

Abby smiled.

"How can we get Stephan?" Craig asked, bringing the conversation back.

"Well, Stephan's biggest downfall is that he's a moron," Tony said, letting go of Abby. "Which is probably why half the family doesn't trust him to lead them. If someone other than Domenico was his second-in-command, they might let it go. But Domenico, obviously, is just as big a moron as Stephan. But what they lack in smarts they make up for in anger. These two are not going to go down without a fight. And I'm also willing to bet that we'll never have any solid evidence to prove that Domenico and Stephan have anything to do with Chip getting out of jail."

"So, again I say. How can we get him?"

"The only way to get him is…"

"We're not using you as bait," Gibbs cut in.

"Then we won't end up getting him," Tony shot back.

"If we're wrong about Stephan's involvement, then we're putting you out there for Charles too," Flack said. "It's too risky."

Tony leveled a narrowed, pensive glance over to Flack. "I thought you hated me."

Flack quirked one shoulder and one corner of his mouth upward. "Hate is a strong word."

"But you find me irritating."

"Who doesn't?" McGee muttered under his breath, causing Lindsay to chuckle slightly.

Flack furrowed his brow. "I never…" he started

"You told both Mac and Detective Angell," Tony interrupted.

Flack glared at Tony slightly, and the agent smirked.

"Glass walls, Detective. Glass walls."

Flack rolled his eyes.

Stella walked into the conference room, making eye contact with Tony. "I thought your name sounded familiar," she said. "Now I know why."

Tony flashed one of his more charming smiles as he walked toward her. "Stella Bonasera," he said, hugging her.

"Anthony DiNozzo. Let me get a look at you now." She let go of him, pushing him back slightly before shaking her head. "You're too skinny."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You always say that."

Stella chuckled. "When was the last time I saw you?"

Tony paused, thinking. "I think I was still in Baltimore, so that's at least eight years ago."

Stella glared at him. "You need to learn how to keep in touch."

Tony glanced over at Gibbs, but said nothing.

"I know, work keeps you busy," she said. "I know exactly how you feel."

"Someone wanna fill in the gaps?" Mac asked.

"Tony was involved in a case I was working on a long time ago."

"Remotely involved," Tony corrected.

"And he was such a nice kid."

Tony threw a smirk over at Flack. "See? People like me."

Flack rolled his eyes again.

"How long ago was that?" Stella asked him.

"'94," Tony replied. "It was one of your first cases."

"Yours too, if I recall."

He smiled wistfully. "Good ol' Peoria. Except I wasn't actually working the case."

"No, you weren't."

"A friend of mine was the victim," Tony explained to the others. "Stella was kind enough to keep me in the loop. We exchanged numbers, kept in touch."

"Some of us better than others," she remarked.

Tony frowned. "Hey, that works both ways, Stella."

Stella laughed, pushing Tony gently. "Yeah, yeah. So, what's going on here?"

"Go in with me on some pizza, and I'll explain."

"Every time I see you, the first thing you do is ask me for pizza."

Tony just grinned.

* * *

"So, what's going on with you?" Stella asked as her and Tony shared a pizza in her office. Abby and Adam were scanning the surveillance tapes again with McGee and Hawkes, while Ziva, Craig, Flack, and Danny worked on finding a stronger connection between Stephan, Domenico, and Chip. Ducky and Sid were trading stories and experiences over dinner in the break room, and Mac and Gibbs were in Mac's office, working on keeping Chief Sinclair and Director Vance at bay.

Tony shrugged, biting into a slice. "Are you talking about right this second, or in the past seven and a half years since I saw you last?" he replied.

"Start with the here and now."

Tony smirked lightly. "I hope you weren't planning on sleeping tonight."

She chuckled softly. "I've got time."

"I may have three different people trying to kill me."

She scoffed lightly. "Popular guy."

He smirked wider. "I know. Everyone wants a piece of me. And I think even your Detective Flack wouldn't mind shooting me."

She shook her head. "Flack's a by-the-book kind of guy. He wouldn't shoot you."

He tilted his head. "Just give me an opportunity to have a long walk off a short pier?"

Stella shook her head again.

"Honestly, Stella, I'm not sure I can even describe what these last few years have been like," Tony said. "Crime scenes, bodies… terrorists who kill colleagues… having the plague…"

"Wait," she said. "You had the plague?"

He scoffed slightly. "Yeah."

"How in the world did you get the plague?"

"Sent through the mail with a moisture strip and two lead lip prints to keep it alive."

"Why did someone send you the plague?"

"That wasn't really for me specifically. Just for an NCIS agent. I happened to be the lucky one to open the letter."

Stella shook her head again. "Well, good to know you're alright."

"Yeah, four years later, I'm still alive."

She nodded, taking a bite of her own pizza.

"What about you?" Tony asked.

"Crime scenes, bodies… rapists who kill colleagues… blowing up the crime lab," she said.

"I heard about that. Although, I think the paper got it wrong when they said the Wilders made the bomb."

She chuckled. "You are too smart for your own good."

He smirked.

* * *

"Chief, I promise, when we have more, I'll tell you," Mac said into the phone on his desk.

"Doin' my best here, Leon," Gibbs said into his cell phone.

Mac nodded. "Yes, we're all working together."

"They're fine."

"Agent Gibbs' team is very good."

Gibbs smirked. "Let ya know."

Mac exhaled slowly. "Yes."

Gibbs scoffed. "Call him yourself."

"Goodbye, Chief." Mac hung up and turned to face Gibbs.

Gibbs flipped his own phone shut, looking at Mac. Both of them simply shook their heads before diving back into the case.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: See first chapter for the disclaimer. I'm thankful to all of you who reviewed! It means a lot to me. Tony references the episodes Hometown Hero and SWAK from season 2, and Stella references the CSI:NY episode Snow Day (and Tony later alludes to this episode as well). Also, Tony talks about Pacci, Kate, Paula, Jenny, and Ryan (from It's Not My Time). This chapter's kinda long, so I hope you guys enjoy it, and please review. :D

* * *

Chapter 6: Face to Face

Once most of the pizza was polished off, Tony and Stella reclined in their chairs. He rubbed his hand along his forehead quietly, and she frowned. "You look tired, Tony," she commented softly.

"Understatement," he replied.

"Why?"

"I've… been having a tough time lately. Can't really sleep."

"That's why you took leave for a road trip?"

He looked over at her. "You're too smart for your own good."

She smiled sadly. "How bad?"

He shook his head. "Worse than I ever could've expected. But… I'm learning how to live with it, you know? It's just… now, with everything with Chip, who was the one who started this whole thing…"

"It's hard," she surmised.

He nodded slowly. "I thought I was starting to get a handle on it, anyway," he said.

"Don't let this derail you."

He sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "It's not that easy."

She said nothing, just watching him.

"I mean… I had kinda thought I had figured things out. I was planning on meeting with Director Vance in about a week, to get off leave. I was starting to think I was ready for this again. But now… now that all of this is going on… it's all back, you know? The pressure… the stuff I left behind. It's all back again." He rubbed his hand over his forehead again.

"Can I make an observation?" she asked gently.

"Go for it," he replied.

"You have an amazing team. From the few moments I sat in with all of you, I could see that you guys all work well together. You're close. You're family."

"Your point?"

"Did you ever talk to any of them about how you're feeling?"

Tony sighed. "You're second-in-command around here, right?"

Stella shrugged. "Your point?"

"Would you ever tell anyone other than Mac that you feel pressured and can't deal with it?"

She tilted her head side to side in concession. "So, you told Gibbs."

He nodded. "He was the one that helped convince me to take the time. Director Vance was the one that made sure I'd still have a spot open when I wanted back."

"And Dr. Mallard?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "_Really_ too smart for your own good."

She smiled.

"He's someone I can trust to talk to," he said. "Someone I can always go to."

"Not your other team members?" she probed.

"I mean, I can go to them, but… with this… I don't know. I just feel like if I told them, I would lose their respect."

"I hope this time away showed you that you wouldn't."

He shrugged. "I mean, they all know anyway. If I haven't lost their respect because they know, then I don't know that I actually will."

She smiled again. "I'm glad you figured that one out on your own."

He smirked. "Hey, I had to do something while I was driving."

"Where'd you go?"

"Around. Spent some time in Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, obviously St. Louis, then Peoria and Pennsylvania. Got the message about what was going on here while I was in Philly, drove up here."

"You get a new car?"

"Not yet. Rented in Peoria and Pennsylvania, took the train in between."

She nodded.

"Though, at least now that I know what happened to this one, I can get a new one. I just wish people would stop stealing my car."

"This happened before?"

Tony nodded. "A few years ago. Used it to rob a convenience store in Tennessee, and then they smashed it."

Stella snorted softly, trying to hold in her laughter. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"You can laugh. Everyone else there at the time did. That wasn't too long before I got the plague."

"I still can't believe that one. Plague?"

"Oh, I got the lung scars to prove it. And, you know, the near-death experience thing really isn't what everyone makes it out to be. Unless that's just because I was choking on my own blood at the time…"

She frowned. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Long time ago."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Is it?" she asked.

He looked back at her.

"You act callous about a situation, but you don't ever seem to truly let it go."

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked. "I mean, yeah, I almost died, but it was almost four years ago. I've been close to dying since then. Hell, I've watched three colleagues die since then. Two of them at the hands of terrorists, and both died right in front of me. Where there was nothing I could do."

"And the third?"

"House fire. Again, nothing I could do."

"Yet, you've carried the weights of their deaths for quite some time. Likely since they happened."

He looked down at his hands. "It could've been me."

"It wasn't."

"I know." He sighed softly. "You believe in karma?"

Stella shrugged. "Some days," she said.

"I never used to," Tony started. "But, with everything that's happened… I mean, everything happens for a reason. I've always believed that. But karma… the whole idea of do good and good comes to you and do bad and bad comes to you… it feels like it's true. I've done enough things that warrant bad karma that… it makes sense that something bad would happen."

"But you've done far more good, Tony. By the logic of karma, you would deserve good, wouldn't you?"

"I don't know."

"I mean, think about it," she said softly. "You lost your sister when you were young. Your mother. Your father. Three of your colleagues at NCIS, one from Philly, and one in Philly. You've had a helluva lot of hospital trips in your career. Don't you think the worst is behind you?"

"Actually, there were five from NCIS… I forgot to tell you about the other two. Although, one of them was fired by that point, and he was also someone I met while I was in Philly, but that's not the point. And, I keep thinking the worst is behind me, and then something else happens."

She frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. With an apologetic glance to her, he answered it with a quick, "DiNozzo."

"_I see you got my message,"_ Chip said. _"Or, well, more like my demonstration. Although, George really had it easy. You won't be so lucky."_

Tony quickly switched his phone to speaker while standing and rushing out of Stella's office. "He's dead. I don't know how exactly he had it easy."

Stella furrowed her brow as she followed Tony into the A/V lab. Abby, Adam, Hawkes, and McGee looked up to see the new arrivals.

"_I think you do know _exactly_ how easy he had it, Tony. Or did you forget what Richard and his men did to you? Do you need to be reminded?"_

At hearing the voice through the phone, McGee started a trace on Tony's phone, which caused Hawkes to text Mac.

"No, I think I got that," Tony continued the conversation.

Chip scoffed. _"So maybe you did learn something. But, then again, where are my manners? Good evening, Abby, McGee, Adam Ross, Detective Dr. Hawkes, and Detective Bonasera. Ladies, you both look so lovely tonight."_

Abby's eyes widened, and Tony shook his head, putting his hand on her arm. "What makes you think I'm in the room with them?" he asked.

"_Just because you're on the 35__th__ floor, doesn't mean you can't be seen,"_ Chip replied. _"How's that trace coming, Timmy?"_

McGee cut a look and a shake of his head over to Tony.

"_You know something, Tony,"_ Chip started.

"I know a lot of things," Tony interrupted, turning his attention back to his phone.

Chip laughed mockingly. _"You're a damned fool. You severely underestimate your opponents. And let me say, this time, no one will be able to save you. Not the NYPD, not your team, and especially not Gibbs. You're going to die."_

"I'm pretty sure that's the other way around. But hey, if you wanna put your money where your mouth is, give me a time and place. We can end this now."

"_Do you really expect me to fall for that?"_

"I think you're cocky," Tony said as Gibbs and Mac rushed in. "You'll do anything to prove that you're not a worthless, incompetent fuck-up. After all, it was you who messed up the blood samples. And then when George used that in his appeal, you lost your job too. You took the job at NCIS to frame me, but you didn't count on Abby not relenting until she proved my innocence. So then you hired guys to take me out, only you hired the wrong crew, and they failed too."

"_Keep talking, DiNozzo. You have no idea what I have planned for your grand finale."_

"Are you trying to scare me? Because if you are, it's really not working. You know, you could've learned something on how to scare people from Gibbs. He's good at that."

Chip scoffed again. _"Yeah, I'm sure he actually scares _you_,"_ he said. _"You're just a big pussy anyway. Isn't that the real reason you haven't told anyone what Richard did to you? Because then they would know the truth? About how you bowed down to Richard and his men?"_

"You've got it all wrong," Tony replied.

"_Oh?"_

"Yeah. They actually all know. Reiterating it wouldn't get you anything."

Chip snorted. _"Yes, because I'm sure you were so forthcoming with Detectives Taylor, Hawkes, and Bonasera."_

"You know, if you really want to scare me, maybe you should work on getting Detective Flack on your crew. He's someone I bet who would be willing to off me if given the chance."

"_Nice try, Tony, but playtime's over."_

"Who's playing with who here, Chipper?"

"_You think you're all big and bad because your boss is standing behind you. When I called you two weeks ago, you were practically ready to shit yourself. Now, what? Gibbs is there, and you feel like you can face me? You're nothing but a coward."_

"You wanna prove that theory, give me a time and place," Tony challenged.

"_Everything in due time, Anthony,"_ Chip taunted before hanging up.

Tony stiffened slightly as he hung up and looked over to McGee. "Anything?" he asked. "Anything at all?"

"I'm sorry, Tony," McGee replied. "He was using a voice-over IP and bouncing it around the globe."

Tony sighed and sank into a stool. "Why now? I mean, before, he wanted me to know where he was, what his game was. Why choose now to get cryptic?"

"What else did he say?" Mac asked.

"He knew the crime lab was on the 35th floor," Adam said.

"He was watching us," Stella stated.

"He said I underestimated my opponents," Tony muttered pensively.

"Is he talking about himself?" McGee asked.

"Or Stephan and Domenico. Maybe they wanted me to know they were in on this… new plan. I don't think they were in the original."

"Unless that's where Richard and his men got the equipment from."

"Even then, we'd never prove it."

"What if we could?" Abby asked. "I mean, the physical evidence would still be there somewhere."

Tony sighed, scratching his chin stubble.

"It'd just be a matter of finding it."

"_If_ we can find it," Tony said.

"Don't you know better than to question my forensic abilities?" Abby asked with a smile.

Tony forced himself to return it, something that only Gibbs, Abby, and McGee noticed.

"Stella, Hawkes, and I will head down to talk to Flack and the others," Mac said. "See if they've come up with anything and catch them up."

Gibbs nodded as the three detectives headed out before turning his gaze toward Tony. "Abs, see if you can get in touch with Balboa, have him send up what you need," the team leader said, keeping his eyes on Tony. "McGee, you and…"

"Adam," McGee supplied.

"Adam, try to find where that call came from."

"Uh, Boss, I don't know if that's possible."

"He was watching us," Tony said softly. "Which can only mean two things."

"He has access to lab security," McGee said.

"Which… isn't likely," Adam threw out.

"Or…"

"He was nearby, like, across the street. If we check out the surveillance cameras around there, we should be able to find him."

"Give the man a cookie," Tony said, smiling slightly.

Adam smiled slightly at the praise before going back to the computer monitors.

Gibbs grabbed Tony's elbow lightly, pulling him off the stool.

"Do we really need to go back into the elevator?" Tony asked as they walked out of the lab.

Adam stopped typing for a moment, watching Tony and Gibbs retreating through the glass walls before turning to McGee. "Why does he use the elevator?" the tech asked.

"I have no idea," McGee replied. "Gibbs is a man of more questions than answers."

Adam chuckled slightly. "Sounds like Mac."

McGee smiled, turning back to the computers.

* * *

"You okay?" Gibbs asked once he and Tony had reached the small flight of stairs next to the elevator.

"If you mean 'okay' as a relative term, then yeah," the younger man replied.

"That phrase he said before he hung up…"

"I know. It's the same thing Richard said." Tony sat down on the stairs, bringing his knees in tow be two steps below the one he sat on. He rested his forearms on his knees and looked at his hands. "Richard… he always kept repeating it, over and over. 'Everything in due time.' I swear, that phrase haunts me in my sleep."

Gibbs sat down next to Tony wordlessly.

"I feel like every time I make a gain, I get pushed back."

"How long's it been?"

Tony sighed painfully. "Over a year."

"You're still here."

Tony snorted softly. "Yeah. I got that goin' for me. Don't know why, though."

Gibbs looked at him.

"Okay, I do know why," Tony said. "Because you'd all kill me, and Paula and Kate would kick my ass in the afterlife."

Gibbs smiled slightly.

"I know I'm whining, but… I just want this to be over. No more worrying about Chip, or Stephan, or anyone. I'm sick of looking over my shoulder, sick of worrying about getting hurt again. I mean, I haven't even…" Tony looked at Gibbs before quickly looking down at his knees again. "…I'm going to avoid going there right now."

Gibbs smirked, knowing what Tony meant anyway.

"I don't know," Tony sighed softly. "I want this to end."

"What 'this'?" Gibbs asked, matching Tony's tone.

Tony looked at the older man again. "This game, this pain. Do I really need to remind you, yet again, that I'm not suicidal?"

Gibbs looked at him.

"I was by myself for two months, Gibbs. If I was going to do it, I wouldn't wait until I came back. I can't hurt you guys like that."

Gibbs nodded.

Tony shifted, leaning his back against the yellow tiled wall. "They really should've re-thought the glass concept," he commented.

Gibbs shrugged.

"Guess glass is easier to rebuild after an explosion then bricks."

Gibbs just watched Tony.

"This place blew up about a year and a half ago."

"Oh?" Gibbs feigned interest, if for no other reason than to see where Tony's mind was going.

"Yeah," Tony replied casually, knowing that Gibbs had no desire to follow this line of conversation, but Tony didn't really feel like talking about everything else at the moment. "The papers said it was the Wilder Crime Family after they tried to steal their drugs back out of the lab vault."

"Don't believe everything you read."

"I don't. Which is how I found out that it was sort of an accident."

"Sort of?"

"Well, Mac set a trap, but he didn't think anyone would actually go _through_ it…"

Gibbs chuckled softly, moving to rest back against the glass wall on the opposite side of the stairs from Tony.

"Made a helluva mess."

"Oh, I bet."

Tony smiled, and while it wasn't completely genuine, it was the closest Gibbs had seen to the real thing in a while. "What do you think Vance would do if we did that?" the younger man asked, an air of mischief to his voice.

"Don't even think about it," Gibbs cautioned.

Tony chuckled. "Too late."

Gibbs leveled a half-glare at Tony, but was also slightly amused by the thought as well.

"Maybe we should try that to get out of the next sexual harassment training seminar," Tony said, smiling.

Gibbs shook his head, contemplating getting up off the stairs and head-slapping Tony.

Tony let the smile fade as he exhaled slowly and sank more against the yellow tile behind him.

"Where'd you go?" Gibbs asked, continuing to respect Tony's having moved the conversation away from the problem at hand.

"Around," Tony replied. "Jack says hi, by the way."

Gibbs nodded. "Dad said you'd stopped by."

"He had some good stories."

Gibbs arched his eyebrows.

Tony laughed lightly. "Some things are better left unsaid."

Gibbs glared at Tony, who shrugged.

"Scout's honor, Boss."

"Don't need it," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, I know," Tony said. "You scare me more than Chip does."

"Scared of Chip?"

Tony sighed. "Not really him. He can plan better than he can execute. Stephan and Domenico can execute better than they can plan. Mix them together…"

Gibbs sighed.

"Maybe Domenico and Stephan _were_ involved in my original kidnapping," Tony said softly. "I mean, I was supposed to be killed. And it'd show that they were brilliant, you know? To kidnap and torture me and get away with it?"

"Until Abby finds something," Gibbs said.

"I'm betting against that."

Gibbs arched his eyebrows again.

Tony didn't say anything, folding his hands together instead.

"You don't want her to find something."

It was a statement more than a question, but Tony looked up anyway.

"That it?" Gibbs continued.

"No," Tony said softly.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. I mean… how would you feel if the life you willingly and purposely left behind came back after you, using you merely for a power struggle?"

Gibbs looked at him.

"Exactly," Tony said. "You'd hate it. And… I guess I'm extremely resentful to anyone who could've had anything to do with my…" He paused, looking around the crime lab. "…with what Richard and his men did. I guess I don't really want to think that my own family, my own flesh and blood, could have anything to do with that."

"But...?" Gibbs said.

Tony shook his head sadly. "I wouldn't put it past them."

Abby made her way over to Tony and Gibbs with Hawkes and Craig in tow. "I got in touch with Balboa," she announced somberly. "He's gathering the original evidence and sending it up."

Tony said nothing, choosing that moment to scrub a hand over his eye.

"It won't get here until the morning, though," she continued. "And when it does, Adam and I will get right on it."

"Adam too?" Tony muttered, his voice barely audible. No one else _heard_ him, but Gibbs knew what he said.

Gibbs looked at Abby.

"I mean, _I_ will get right on it," she said.

Hawkes grew curious about the correction, but didn't say anything, and Craig knew better than to ask.

Tony closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall.

"DiNozzo, Abby, go check in at the hotel," Gibbs instructed. "Craig, you and…"

"Doctor Hawkes," Craig said.

"…go with them."

"M'fine, Boss," Tony disputed.

"Yeah, me too," Abby said. "I mean, there's a ton of things I can be doing here…"

Gibbs looked at both of them. "When did this turn into a debate?" he asked.

Tony grunted, pushing himself up off the stairs and walking away in annoyance. Craig nodded at Gibbs before following after Tony. Abby sat down beside Gibbs, who looked at Hawkes.

"I'm just going to brief Mac quickly," Hawkes said, walking away.

"Why are you sending us away?" Abby asked.

Gibbs looked at her.

"No. No looks. Explain."

"Tony has a point about glass walls," Gibbs said.

Abby looked at him, slightly confused for a moment before Chip's phone call clicked in her head.

"He needs sleep. And, he needs you."

She frowned slightly, but nodded.

"When you get here in the morning, I want _you_ working on the evidence. Not Adam, not anyone else."

"Gibbs, I'm not just going to hijack Adam's lab," she protested lightly.

"Abs, I don't think Tony wants this lab to know, too."

She nodded sadly, hugging Gibbs. "I'll run everything myself. And, I'll take care of him."

He rubbed her on the back gently. "Thanks, Abs."

She nodded again, standing up and kissing him on the cheek. "Night, Gibbs."

"Night."

Gibbs remained seated on the stairs as Abby walked away, his gut churning. Sure, Tony needed the sleep, but was sending them out of the lab actually the best idea?

* * *

"So, where did we get put up?" Tony asked, yawning.

"A few blocks from here," Abby replied. "It's much easier to walk than get a cab."

"We can take the truck," Hawkes offered.

"It's not necessary," Tony said.

Craig said nothing, watching their surroundings as the group walked in the direction of their hotel.

"You know, you seem so normal, and then you do that," Tony quipped.

"Protection detail," Craig replied simply.

Tony held up his hands. "I'm not going to mock you."

"There's a shock," Abby teased.

"I'm too tired," Tony replied before yawning again.

"Tony has a point, though. You're like a male Ziva sometimes… minus all the assassin stuff."

"I don't know how to respond to that," Craig said, focusing on her and Tony.

"Well, I like Ziva," Abby said.

"So I think it's supposed to be a compliment," Tony added. "But, you didn't always like Ziva."

"Water under the bridge."

"Is it?" a voice said from beside them.

Before anyone could react, Abby had a gun to her face, and Craig and Hawkes were already down on the sidewalk, unconscious. Tony's hand flinched to his gun as he saw Chip pointing the weapon at Abby, Stephan pointing his gun at Hawkes, and Domenico pointing a weapon at Craig.

"Hello, Abby," Chip taunted. "Good to see you again."

"You know, you should've let Dr. Hawkes here drive you to the hotel," Stephan said. "Might've avoided this."

"What do you want?" Tony asked.

"You come with us, without a fight," Domenico said.

"You don't…" Stephan began.

"And they're all dead before you even pull out your gun," Chip finished.

"We're three feet from the Crime Lab," Tony said. "You kill them here, you're asking to be caught. And there are four of us and three of you."

"Well, we'll just kill them and drag you off," Stephan said.

"It'd then be three against one," Domenico added.

"But, I know you, Tony," Chip said. "You don't want these innocent people being killed because you decided to be stubborn."

"You take me, and you'll leave them alone?" Tony asked.

"Tony, don't," Abby said.

Tony looked at her, but said nothing.

"Craig and Hawkes will go free," Chip said.

"Abby too," Tony said.

"Not part of the deal," Stephan said, cocking his weapon and pointing it at Tony's head. "And we don't have time for this. We're leaving now."

"Oh, well, goodbye, then."

"You're coming with us."

"No, I'm not." Tony swung out, smashing his elbow into Stephan's face. Domenico responded by bashing the butt of his pistol into Tony's head, causing the agent to crumple to the ground.

"I suggest you make this very easy," Chip said, jabbing his gun against Abby's throat.

She said nothing, but didn't fight too hard when Stephan, Domenico, and Chip dragged her and Tony down an alley.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. This chapter should clear up a few questions that you guys may have had about things... I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review.

* * *

Chapter 7: Before Another Second Clicks Away…

Gibbs was still sitting on the stairs and leaning against the glass wall with his gut still churning when Adam and McGee rushed over. "We found him," McGee said.

"He was caught walking into a building across the street," Adam replied.

"Let's go bring him in," Gibbs said, getting up off the stairs.

"There might be a problem with that," Mac said, walking over. "I just got a call from Hawkes. He and Craig were jumped while walking Tony and Abby back to the hotel. When they came to, Tony and Abby were gone."

"Chip."

Mac nodded.

* * *

The EMTs were still fussing over Craig's head when Gibbs and Mac walked up with Flack and Ziva. Hawkes was being checked out by another EMT while Craig was intent on getting free from the unwanted medical attention.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "I got hurt worse in boot camp."

Gibbs nodded the EMT away before leaning in toward Craig.

"I screwed up, Boss," the junior agent admitted.

"How the hell did this happen?" Gibbs asked, his voice low, cold, and angry.

"We were walking to the hotel. Hawkes offered to drive, but Tony insisted on walking. I should've made him get in the car, but… I didn't want to fight with Tony on that. I thought we, Hawkes and I, could protect them on the street too, that it didn't really matter. Next thing I remember, Hawkes is leaning over me and waking me up."

"Chip?"

Craig half-nodded but half-shrugged. "Had to be all three of them. Hawkes was just waking up when I did, and Tony would've taken Chip out if it was just him."

Gibbs sighed softly as he nodded, checking Craig's head wound.

"I'm fine, Boss," the younger man said.

Gibbs nodded, straightening up and walking over to Mac. Ziva and Craig followed, as did Hawkes and Flack.

"So, where would they take Ms. Sciuto and Agent DiNozzo?" Flack asked.

"Flack, get Danny and Stella down here to help us process the scene," Mac instructed. "Get Adam and Lindsay working on the surveillance tapes from around this spot."

"Have McGee help them," Gibbs added.

"You got it," Flack said, walking away.

Mac put his kit down, starting to process the scene with Hawkes, Ziva, and Craig while Gibbs picked up his phone.

"Leon," he said into the receiver.

* * *

Tony woke up to the sound of crying, and he furrowed his brow, wondering if it was his own disjointed sobs he was hearing as he tried to move his rope-bound hands. When he opened his eyes and saw Abby injured, but untied, in front of him, he knew it wasn't him.

"Abby," he whispered.

She snapped her head upward, and he could see the tears streaking her makeup down her face.

"What'd they do to you, Abs?" he asked nervously.

"Don't worry, Tony," Chip said, walking out of the shadows behind Abby. "It's nothing like what Richard and his men did to you."

"Leave her alone," Tony said.

"Can't," Stephan said as he walked forward from the same area Chip had come, followed by Domenico. "See, she helped send Charles here to prison, which means she has to atone for what she did."

"That, and we know we'll hurt you worse by hurting her," Domenico added.

Tony glared at them. "I'm going to kill all of you, you know that," he said.

"That'd be a neat trick, considering you're tied up," Chip commented.

"More you fight with us, the worse we hurt her," Stephan said, winking.

Tony closed his mouth but started moving his hands, reaching into the waistband of his pants to find his knife. He silently thanked Gibbs for insisting on Rule 9, as well as thanking his captors for being morons.

"Oh, wow, you do know how to close that," Chip sneered.

Tony glared, but said nothing.

"We managed to make him silent," Domenico said.

"I didn't think that was possible," Stephan added.

"Oh, it's possible," Tony commented over the sound of him clicking open his knife.

Abby glared at Tony fearfully, and he gave her a small nod.

Chip stepped up behind Abby, putting his knife to her throat. She inhaled sharply.

"What do you really want her for?" Tony asked. "I mean, I'm just asking. Abby was just doing her job. So why are you going to try to kill her? I'm the one you want. I got you fired."

"Actually, technically speaking, George did," Chip said. "But you turning him in started that. George got his, though."

"Just like you will," Stephan said, smirking.

"After we kill Abby, of course."

Abby stared at Tony, who calmly looked at her.

"You do that, and there won't be a place on Earth you'll be safe from Gibbs," the agent said.

"Why is it that you have so much trust in him?" Stephan asked. "Enough to turn your back on your family."

"I guess it's because my own family turned their backs on me. And, they also seem to want to kill me. To this day, Gibbs never has tried."

"But he does abuse you. Much like you claim Uncle Vincent did."

Tony furrowed his brow. "Gibbs does not abuse me. And, he is not my father."

Stephan shrugged. "He could be, for all you know. Your mother was a whore."

Tony scoffed. "I doubt that. Mom wasn't a redhead."

Abby smiled slightly.

"Does Agent Gibbs know about how you destroyed your family?" Stephan asked, narrowing his eyes.

Tony inhaled deeply before sighing, finally freeing his hands. "He knows," he said, simply holding his position.

"About how you killed Cari?"

Tony snorted softly. "You make it sound like I pushed her in front of the car."

"You sure didn't push her out of the way."

"I tried. I was too late."

"Story of your life, huh?" Chip said, pulling his hand away from Abby's throat.

"Something like that," Tony said, shrugging. He made eye contact with Abby, who blinked her understanding.

"Your mother too," Stephan continued. "You weren't good enough to her."

"Says the man who called her a whore."

"You didn't deny it."

"I could, but it wouldn't change your mind. And it wouldn't change the fact that she's dead. You only thought she was a whore because that's the line my father fed you every day for years. You don't know how to think for yourself. Even now, I bet Domenico tells you what to do. There's a reason no one trusts you to lead them. You're a moron."

Stephan stepped between Tony and Abby, with Domenico following him. "You listen to me, Antonio," Stephan said.

"It's Anthony," Tony corrected. "Or Tony. Never was Antonio."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. How do you think Chip found Richard Waters? Sheer wish fulfillment?"

"I wouldn't put it past Chipper."

"_I_ was the one who found Richard. _I_ helped him hire his men, helped them procure all the toys they wanted. Gave them a few ideas, ways to break you, make you beg. Breaking you was the key to hurting Gibbs. Too bad Richard never lived to see it."

"Well, if Gibbs hadn't killed him, I would've. Just like I'm going to kill you."

Stephan chuckled, squatting to be on Tony's eye-level. "Like Charles said, neat trick, considering you're tied up."

Tony quirked a grin. "Am I?" he said.

A moment of doubt crossed Stephan's face before Tony stabbed him through the heart. Abby kicked Domenico from behind, knocking him to the ground. Tony pulled his knife out as Abby swung her chair into Chip, knocking him to the ground. Domenico lunged at Abby, and Tony stabbed him in the back before stabbing him again in the chest. Abby stopped fighting for the moment when Chip stood up and pointed a gun in her face.

"I wouldn't, if I were you," he said, cocking the weapon.

Tony withdrew Domenico's weapon from the dead man's waistband before pointing it at Chip. "Drop your weapon, Chip," he ordered.

"You can try shooting me, but I'll kill Abby first."

Abby backed up toward Tony.

"Or, I could kill you first, and then kill her," Chip said, watching her.

"No, you won't," Tony said, cocking the weapon. "That would defeat part of your purpose of torturing me. And you can't kill her without killing me," he added, stepping in between Abby and Chip. "So, what's it going to be, Chipper?"

Chip stared down Tony, nothing but murder in his eyes. "I'm not going back to prison."

Both weapons discharged in rapid succession, followed by two simultaneous thuds.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: See first chapter for the disclaimer. I almost didn't get this up this week because my computer was down, but I'm back up and running! :D This chapter marks the last one where the CSI:NY characters will actually appear (there may be a mention here or there). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review.

* * *

Chapter 8: …One of Us Will Die

Abby flinched, covering her ears as the guns went off almost simultaneously. To her horror, both Chip and Tony dropped, hitting the floor at the exact same second. She knelt next to Tony, finding him with a gunshot wound to the right side of the chest. She glanced over at Chip, who had been shot on the left side of the chest.

"Check," Tony strained, pressing his own hand over his wound.

She nodded, moving to check for a pulse on Chip. Finding nothing, she moved back over to Tony before pulling off her sweater and pressing it against his wound.

"Phone," he groaned.

She nodded, moving away toward Domenico's body. She pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.

"Stay with me, Tony," she said as she stuck the phone between her ear and shoulder, pressing her sweater into his wound again.

He simply moaned painfully in response.

* * *

"Taylor," Mac said as he picked up his phone.

"Mac, 911 just got a phone call from Abby Sciuto," Lindsay said. "They're in an abandoned warehouse in Queens."

"Address?"

"Sent it to your phone."

"Thanks, Lindsay." He hung up, turning to Gibbs. "Abby called 911."

Gibbs followed after Mac.

* * *

The Avalanche pulled up to the warehouse just as the first ambulance pulled away. A second ambulance was parked out front, its crew inside as another Avalanche arrived on the scene. Abby and Tony weren't anywhere to be seen outside, so Gibbs and Mac made their way inside.

"Three DOAs," one of the EMTs said.

"Anthony DiNozzo and Abigail Sciuto were transported to the hospital," another EMT said. "He suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest. She had suffered multiple contusions and shallow lacerations."

"What hospital?" Mac asked.

"Sweeney."

Gibbs and Mac went back outside, instructing Danny and Craig to process inside. Danny nodded, calling Hawkes to come help with the crime scene while the two team leaders headed off to the hospital.

* * *

Abby rushed Gibbs the second he appeared in the doorway of her room in the ER. She hugged him tightly, burying her face against his shoulder. He rubbed her on the back, resting his chin against her shoulder.

"He looked bad, Gibbs," she cried softly, squeezing him.

He said nothing, just resting his chin into her shoulder.

"He passed out in the ambulance… he stopped breathing…"

Gibbs sighed softly.

She squeezed him again, sniffling.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"They don't think anything's broken, and all the cuts are shallow," she replied tearfully.

He nodded as she kept clinging to him.

"Tony wouldn't let Chip kill me. He tried to get us out of there."

Gibbs nodded as Abby pulled back, sitting on the bed. He sat down next to her, finding blood dried on her hands and shirt.

"This isn't all mine," she said, gesturing at her shirt. "It's Tony's, too."

Gibbs looked at her, watching as she looked down at her hands. After a moment, she leaned against him, and he responded by wrapping his arm around her.

"Please tell me he'll be okay," she whispered.

"I wish I could, Abs," he replied softly, squeezing her shoulders tenderly.

She frowned.

"What happened, Abs?" Gibbs probed gently.

"Chip, Stephan, and Domenico came out of an alley," Abby replied. "Stephan and Domenico knocked out Hawkes and Craig, and Chip put his gun in my face. Tony refused to go with them, so they knocked him out and dragged us to a car. They drove to the warehouse… the, uh, the next thing I remember, Tony was waking up."

He looked at her, knowing she remembered more, but not pushing it.

"Tony kept talking… I guess Chip forgot rule 9 and no one checked him, because he got free and stabbed Stephan. I kicked Domenico, Tony stabbed him… Tony and Chip ended up shooting each other."

He nodded, rubbing her arm and shoulder gently as she nestled her head against him.

Ducky walked into the room, looking at Gibbs and Abby.

"How is he?" Abby asked.

"The bullet hit his lung," Ducky replied. "He's in surgery, but the doctors aren't sure about his prognosis due to the scarring left by the plague."

Abby started crying again, wrapping her arms around Gibbs.

"How bad?" Gibbs asked.

"They won't know until they fully assess the damage," Ducky replied. "They weren't confident after they heard about the plague, but it could be better than they're thinking."

Abby nodded, but kept holding onto Gibbs and crying. And for once, Gibbs didn't exactly know what it was she was crying for- herself, or Tony.

* * *

Mac was sitting in the waiting room when McGee, Ziva, and Craig entered. He nodded at them, but said nothing. Truth be told, he didn't have anything to tell them. Ducky was still in the room with Gibbs and Abby, and the doctors weren't talking to Mac.

The three junior agents sat down, each with different levels of displayed concern. McGee's was the most obvious, because, as Mac had come to understand in the past day, McGee was the one who wore his heart on his sleeve the most, behind Abby. He was worried, but Mac also got the feeling he'd been here before.

Ziva was the most reserved, hiding her emotions deep inside herself. From her body language alone, Mac would've sworn that she was indifferent to the happenings. But her eyes told a different story, one of familiarity and worry. From what Flack had told Mac about Tony's jacket, he understood the look in her eyes, as well as McGee's reaction.

Craig was worried, but Mac could also tell that Craig wasn't as close to Tony as the other two. On top of that, Craig was a Marine, which shielded some of the concern he felt. What he saw in Craig was a guy who'd been here before, but it was more of a distant experience than what Mac saw in McGee and Ziva.

Vance made his way into the waiting room, and two of the three junior agents snapped their heads up. Craig stood himself, walking over and shaking the director's hand.

"Where's Gibbs?" Vance asked, looking at the three junior agents before spotting Mac. "Director Leon Vance," he introduced, stepping forward.

Mac stood up, shaking Vance's hand. "Detective Mac Taylor," he said. "And, Agent Gibbs is in the ER with Abby Sciuto."

"Any word?"

"EMTs said her wounds were mostly superficial. They were more concerned about Agent DiNozzo, who was shot in the chest. I don't know anything beyond that."

"Anthony is in surgery," Ducky said as he walked out with Gibbs and Abby.

"Is he okay?" McGee asked.

"To be determined."

Gibbs watched as Abby stepped forward, hugging McGee tightly. Vance made eye contact with Gibbs, who nodded.

"Boss," Craig said.

Gibbs looked over.

"NYPD's still processing the scene, but we have a good idea what happened in there."

Gibbs nodded at Abby.

Craig looked over at her before turning back. "I'm sure what we've found confirms Abby's story," he continued.

Abby flinched, but only Gibbs and McGee noticed.

"Danny said they're gonna take the evidence back with them, but are going to leave it for us to process," Craig finished.

"Good work," Gibbs said softly before walking aside with Vance.

Mac watched as Craig and Ducky sat down, talking quietly between them. McGee and Abby finally sat down as well, but she was leaning against him. Ziva, however, had been staring at the same spot on the wall since she sat down in the waiting room. And while she wasn't reacting to anything in the room, Mac knew that she had noticed what was going on around her.

She was just focusing her energy on keeping it together.

* * *

"How is he?" Vance asked as they made their way off for coffee.

"You heard Ducky," Gibbs said.

"That's not what I was asking about."

Gibbs looked at him.

"But, then again, you knew that."

Gibbs shrugged.

"He called me three days ago."

Gibbs arched his eyebrows.

"He was coming back to D.C. in a week and a half, and wanted to meet to talk about getting off leave. Did he tell you?"

Gibbs neither nodded nor shook his head. "I told you, he'd call you when he was ready," he answered instead.

"Do you think he's ready?" Vance asked.

"I think that's his decision to make."

* * *

Vance and Gibbs made their way back into the waiting room, with their hands full of hot beverages courtesy of Vance. McGee accepted the coffee offered to him by Gibbs, who also handed coffee to Mac and hot chocolate to Abby. Vance handed tea to Ziva and Ducky, and coffee to Craig.

"To whom do I owe?" Ducky asked.

"It's on me," Vance said softly, taking a drink from his cup. "Any word?"

"Nothing new yet, Director."

As if on cue, a doctor walked into the waiting room. "Doctor Mallard?" he asked.

"Doctor," Ducky said, stepping forward.

"He's out of surgery, and is being settled into the SICU as we speak. The surgery went well. The damage wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be, so we're confident he'll pull through. He'll need some rehab, of course, but he should be able to return to duty."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course. SICU is on the fifth floor."

Ducky nodded as the surgeon walked away. The elder doctor turned back to the assembled group, giving them a small smile.

"I'm gonna head back to my lab," Mac said, standing. "I'll have Adam and Danny make sure everything's ready for you guys, whether you analyze the evidence here or in D.C."

"Thanks, Detective Taylor," Vance said.

Gibbs simply gave Mac a small nod in acknowledgement.

"Tell your team that we owe them one," Vance continued.

"It's not necessary, Director," Mac said. "We were thankful they came up here to assist us on the Petrie case."

Vance nodded, and Mac shook his hand.

"Give Tony my best," Mac told the team as he shook their hands. With their promise to do just that, Mac left the hospital, and the group moved to the fifth floor.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm sorry this is a week and a half late... lot of stuff going on, some of which was beyond my control, but if all goes according to plan, there will also be an update on Friday... Anyway, see the first chapter for the disclaimer. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 9: Every Little Thing Starts Falling to Pieces

_Two Weeks Later  
__New York_

Abby frowned uncomfortably in the silence as she perched on the edge of Tony's bed. While her physical wounds had mostly healed, except for the few that were becoming scars, there were still a few positions that gave her some minor pain. She sighed softly, shaking that thought out of her head and picking up his hand. She started to play with his fingers, much like she had been doing every day for the last week.

Tony had been heavily sedated since being admitted, as a ventilator was used to ensure that his lungs were strong enough. Had he been awake, he would've been fighting with the ventilator, but he was now weaned off of both the sedation and the machine.

Gibbs and the team had left last week, having been called away for a priority case. Abby stayed behind, taking her recommended leave to stay with Tony and keep the team updated on his progress, including the information that he was moved to a step-down unit the night before.

She exhaled slowly as she leaned down and rested her head tiredly against his arm. After a few moments, she felt something brush her hair, and she looked up to find his eyes opened and watching her as his hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Hey, Sleepy," she said softly.

"Hey," he choked out softly, his voice hoarse from the tube of the ventilator.

She smiled slightly, sitting back and grabbing the cup. She poured him some water before putting a straw in it for him to sip.

"Thanks," he whispered after he had finished.

She put the cup down on the bedside table. "You're welcome."

"How long was I out?"

"Two weeks."

His eyes widened.

"They needed to make sure your lung wouldn't collapse again before they took you off the vent," she explained.

He nodded, closing his eyes again.

"Feel free to sleep. It's totally fine."

"Not tired," he said softly. "Just trying to clear the cobwebs."

She nodded, saying nothing as she rested her head against his arm again.

"You okay?" he ventured gently.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she replied.

Tony nodded, groaning as he leaned forward to kiss her gently on the back of the head. "You sure that's it?"

"I'm sure."

He reached over, stroking her hair as she kept her head on his arm.

* * *

_Washington, D.C._

Four heads snapped up when Gibbs' desk phone rang, and Gibbs smacked the speakerphone button. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"_How's it going, Boss?"_ Tony asked softly, his voice still somewhat hoarse and his breathing shallower than normal.

Gibbs arched his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"How're you feeling?" Ziva asked, making her way over to Gibbs' desk. McGee and Craig joined her.

"_Fine,"_ Tony replied. _"So long as I don't move too much or breathe too deeply."_

"When'd you wake up?" McGee asked.

"_About an hour ago, and the nurse already came to see me."_

"When do you get to bust out?" Craig asked.

"_Don't know yet,"_ Tony said. _"She won't tell me."_

"_With good reason,"_ Abby said in the background. _"They don't want you rushing them."_

"_Well, they're gonna get that anyway, so they might as well get used to it."_

"_You are going to take your time here, even if I have to stay here to make sure you do."_

"_Oh, come on. That's not fair."_

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.

"_Shutting up, Boss,"_ Tony said instantly.

"_See, Gibbs is with me on this one," _Abby said.

Tony scoffed. _"Gibbs is always with you."_

"Am I going to have to go up there and separate you two?" Gibbs asked, annoyed.

"_No,"_ Tony replied.

"_We'll be fine,"_ Abby agreed.

"Good," Gibbs said.

"What are they telling you?" Ziva asked.

"_That my lung has a new scar,"_ Tony began. _"But, it's strong enough to sustain my breathing, so that's good news. And they're going to run some tests here and there, but they won't tell me how much before I get out of here."_

"_Which is smart on their part,"_ Abby added.

"_Yeah, yeah. So, what's new? Abby said I was out for about two weeks."_

"Oh, man, you missed so much," Craig said. "McGee and Ziva both got their nipples pierced."

Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee all turned to stare at Craig as Tony and Abby started laughing.

"_No fair, man,"_ Tony sputtered painfully. _"It hurts too much to laugh."_

Craig chuckled. "Sorry, man," he said. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"_I appreciate that."_

"No problem. Hey, did you get that thing I sent you yet?"

"_What thing?"_

"_It hasn't come in yet, Craig,"_ Abby said.

"Damn," Craig said. "Well, when it gets there…"

"_Do I want to know what this is?"_ Tony asked.

"It's not bad. I promise."

"_What is it?"_

"Well, it'd ruin the surprise if I just told you outright, now wouldn't it?"

"_Please tell me it's not Detective Flack jumping out of a cake."_

Craig chuckled. "Would you like that? Because I think that can still be arranged."

Tony snorted. _"No, thank you. Especially since I already got shot once up here."_

"Flack wouldn't shoot you. He's grown to respect you."

"_I don't know if 'respect' is the right word, there. It's more like he doesn't hate me anymore."_

Craig shrugged. "Touché."

"_He sent you a card,"_ Abby said as they heard her shuffling things in the background.

"_He did _what_?"_ Tony asked incredulously.

"_Yeah. You have cards here from… Vance, the people in the evidence garage, Fornell, Flack, Mac, Danny, Adam, Stella… Stella also stopped by once or twice."_

"_Stella's a nice person, and a good friend."_

"Well, not to interrupt you or anything, but we need to get back to work," Craig said. "Hope you're back on your feet soon."

"_That makes two of us,"_ Tony replied. _"We'll talk later."_

"Yeah, we'll get coffee or something when you come back."

"_Sounds good."_

"Take care, man."

"_You too. Later, guys."_

"Later, Tony," McGee said.

"Bye, Tony," Ziva said.

"Take care of yourself," Gibbs added before hanging up.

* * *

_New York_

Tony hung up, turning to Abby in the process. "So, do you want to talk about it?" he asked, putting his hand on her arm.

"About what?" she replied, looking down.

He simply looked at her.

"No."

"Abs…" he said softly.

"No," she interrupted. "We're not talking about it."

He sighed, but nodded anyway as she hugged onto his arm. "Wanna watch TV then?"

She smiled, grateful that he was willing to drop the conversation, before nodding and turning to the TV in the corner.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Okie dokie, I'm back with a new chapter. See the first one for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :D

* * *

Chapter 10: Welcome Home

_Two Weeks Later  
__Washington, D.C._

Abby held Tony's arm at the elbow, helping him out of the car. "Abby, this is really unnecessary," he complained for what had to be the hundredth time since he was discharged from the hospital in New York.

"I'm escorting you back to your place, tucking you in, and making sure you rest," she said. "Those are my instructions."

"Were your instructions also to drive us all the way back from New York?"

"Yes."

He leveled a light gaze at her.

"Okay, so maybe we didn't _have_ to drive," she conceded. "But, it's only a couple hours down the 95, and I figured you'd be up for a drive."

"I do like driving," he said. "But, I took a road trip already."

She narrowed her gaze. "Yeah, without me."

"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll make sure you're with me."

She shrugged. "Whatever."

He looked at her worriedly for a moment before they reached the broken elevator, and both of them realized they had a new dilemma on their hands.

"How are we supposed to get you up into bed?" she asked, staring at the out-of-order sign.

"They have stairs around the corner," he replied, gesturing in their general direction.

"But, you need to limit your physical activity."

Tony held up his hand. "Once I get in there, I promise to do the stairs no more than twice a day."

Abby groaned. "Tony…"

"Abs, come on. I'll be fine taking the stairs. It's one flight, not 50."

She frowned. "But they don't want you to do stairs."

"The doctor said it'd be okay."

"I'm gonna get Gibbs to tell your landlord to fix the elevator."

Tony sighed heavily. "I'm not going to win this, am I?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied, somewhat proudly.

"You gonna get McGee over here to carry me upstairs?"

She sighed. "No. I guess you can try it. But, not too fast or too hard."

"That's what she said," he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes, guiding him toward the stairs.

* * *

"Fifteen minutes," Tony grumbled as he fished for his keys.

"You need to take it easy," Abby replied defensively.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Stop complaining."

"Fifteen minutes!"

"It'll take me fifteen seconds more of you complaining before I throw you down the stairs."

"You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet?"

Tony eyed her cautiously, reading her gaze. "Okay, maybe you would," he reasoned after a moment.

"Now, get inside," she said as he opened the door.

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't make me Gibbs-slap you."

The two of them walked through the door, with Tony realizing that it was neater than when he had left. "Did you clean up for me?" he asked.

"No," Abby replied.

He grunted softly, plopping down on his couch. "How come you've been so hostile today?"

"I'm gonna go get your bags," she averted.

"Abs…" he started.

"And then, I'll let Gibbs know we got back okay. And after that, I'll order us something for lunch. Probably about the time it gets here, Gibbs will have sent Ducky over."

"Abby…"

"I'll be right back," she said, walking out the door and leaving Tony confused and speechless.

* * *

Ducky made his way into the apartment, finding Tony lounging on the couch. "Welcome home, my dear fellow," he greeted, smiling.

"Hey, Ducky," Tony replied softly, shallowly echoing the smile from the older gentleman.

"Something wrong?"

Tony shook his head. "Not with me."

Ducky was momentarily confused until Abby emerged from the bathroom. The doctor simply nodded, pulling out his stethoscope. "And how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel fine," Tony replied.

"You're not fine," Abby contested from the kitchen. "It took you fifteen minutes to get up the stairs."

Ducky arched his eyebrows.

"Because you made me stop every two steps," Tony countered, glancing over his shoulder at Abby.

"Because you're not supposed to strain yourself."

"I've done enough physical therapy for them to trust me at home. I'm breathing fine. I'm going to be fine."

"'Going to be fine' isn't the same as 'fine.'"

He rolled his eyes. "I feel fine, Mom."

"See what I have to put up with?" Abby said, looking at Ducky.

Ducky chuckled. "I'm glad you both are home and alright," the older man said.

"Good to be home," Tony added. "I hate hospitals."

"We know," Abby and Ducky said at the same time.

Tony pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sit up and pull your shirt over your head," Ducky instructed as he pulled a thermometer out of his bag.

* * *

Ducky walked into the squad room a little while later, carrying his bag and drawing the attention of the gathered team. "He's doing rather well," he answered before anyone asked. "His lungs sound normal, no signs of infection. He is perfectly capable of being on his own."

"He put you up to that answer?" Craig asked mischievously, winking.

Ducky smiled. "No. I was just explaining that to Abigail."

"Is she still there?" McGee asked, concerned.

"I left Anthony to try to get her to go home," Ducky replied. "I wasn't quite up to the challenge."

McGee smirked softly.

"If anyone should need me, I'll be downstairs," the M.E. said. "I have someone waiting for me."

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said as Ducky walked away.

* * *

"Got anythin' for me, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he made his way into autopsy a few hours later.

"Our guest here expired four days ago," Ducky said. "Though, it was not from a lack of trying on someone's part. Shot, stabbed, poisoned… what finally did him in, though, was anaphylactic shock."

Gibbs arched his eyebrows.

"It appears our Marine has a severe allergy to peanuts."

"Can you tell how he came into contact with it?" Gibbs asked.

"The knife had to be coated in peanut oil," Ducky replied. "There are traces of it around the stab wound. The gunshot came after the stab wound, but the poisoning came much earlier. Not heavily, enough to accumulate in the blood and eventually lead to death."

"Someone got impatient."

"Either that, or more than one person was out to harm our Marine."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs turned and made his way toward the doors.

"Jethro, there's something else you should know," Ducky said, halting Gibbs.

Gibbs turned around.

"When I was over Anthony's earlier, I sensed there was some tension between him and Abigail."

"Tension?" Gibbs asked.

"Beyond the part where he did not want her there and taking care of him, he was worried about her. I'm concerned."

Gibbs nodded. "Let me worry about them," he said as he left the room.

Ducky turned to the Marine on the table. "I always do, and simply hope for the best."


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: I apologize wholeheartedly for the long delay. I've had some computer and personal problems that are (hopefully) sorted out, but I apologize again for the delay. See the first chapter for the disclaimer, and as always, I hope you all enjoy and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 11: First Night Home

_Washington, D.C.  
__Later That Day_

Tony turned his attention away from the TV program he had long since ignored to his apartment door as it creaked open. Ziva made her way in, and Tony gave her a smile, thankful for a better distraction. "Haven't seen you in a while," he commented.

"Likewise," she replied, smiling. "I figured I would come and make you dinner."

"I'm not about to get up and stop you," he said, gesturing to the fact that he had been tucked tightly into the couch.

"Abby?"

"Yep."

Ziva chuckled slightly, walking over to the couch and giving Tony a small hug. "She was worried about you," Ziva continued.

"I figured that much when she was still with me at the hospital a month later," Tony said, fidgeting.

"She refused to leave until you were okay."

"She say why?"

Ziva shook her head. "Not to me."

Tony sighed, finally loosening up the blankets enough that he could get up from the couch.

"How long ago did she leave?" Ziva asked.

"Pretty much after you called and said you'd be here," Tony replied, moving to the kitchen. "I promised her I'd stay put until you got here. I wasn't about to pick a fight with her. She's weirder than normal."

She shrugged. "She is worried about you."

"Yeah, I know. So, who cleaned up my place?"

"I did. I did not want you to be tripping over things when you returned."

"Well, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Ziva unloaded the bags she had brought with her before setting about the kitchen and starting to make dinner. "So, what was it that Craig sent you in the hospital?" she asked.

Tony chuckled. "It was a care package his wife and kids had made up. You know, drawings, cookies, candy, a teddy bear. And then there was a book of dirty jokes and pick up lines for me to use on the nurses."

She laughed softly.

"He didn't tell you guys?" he continued.

"No," she replied. "He said we would find out soon enough."

"Meaning when I came home, or when I called. Instead, I called his home and thanked Meg and the girls."

"That is very nice."

He shrugged. "So, tell me what's been up lately," he said, changing the subject. "Abby didn't tell me anything."

"There is not much to tell," she answered. "Cases, work. Same as always." She paused as she dug through his cabinets, finding the pans she was looking for. "I'm not sure how Abby will like what the tech has done with the lab, though."

"Doesn't she have a guide for her lab?"

"McGee pointed that out after the guy had been there for a few days and the place was already a mess."

Tony cringed. "I hope the kid cleaned it up."

Ziva nodded.

"I would hate to have this version of Abby on my ass," he continued.

"What is going on with her?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No clue."

* * *

The soft footsteps on the stairs were enough to tell Gibbs who was visiting without him even looking. "She's coming along," her voice echoed softly off the basement walls.

Gibbs nodded, turning his full attention to Abby, who normally didn't come to his house to see him.

"What are you going to do when she's done?"

"Don't know yet," Gibbs said.

"I stayed with Tony today, but I'll be back at work tomorrow."

Gibbs nodded again.

Abby walked over, wrapping her arms tightly around Gibbs' neck. Gibbs rubbed her back gently as she buried her head against his shoulder.

"It was horrible," she said softly. "They… they hurt me. They kept saying that I deserved it, that I was bad because I got Chip in trouble. And they would've killed me when they were done, but Tony woke up. And when he did… Tony saved my life."

Gibbs said nothing, instead holding Abby tighter.

"He almost died trying to save me," she whispered.

"He didn't," Gibbs reminded her softly.

"But he could've. He has enough scars as it is. He doesn't need any more. Plus, his life has sucked enough without having to kill his own family. He doesn't even talk about it, Gibbs."

"He's more worried about you."

Her tears were her only response.

* * *

After dinner, Tony and Ziva moved into the living room with tea. He kicked his feet up on his coffee table while she tucked one of her legs underneath her.

"So, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Finally getting down to business, huh?" he deflected. "You've wanted to ask me that since New York."

"A question that demands an answer."

"Well, I can honestly say I'm doing a lot better with everything with Richard than I was when I left here for my trip. Not quite as good as I was doing before I went afloat, though. Although, Sydney always says I may never completely get over it, but I will learn how to live with it. Which is what I tried to focus on when I was driving around."

"And visiting Jack, yes?"

Tony nodded. "Sydney's somewhat surprised at the progress I've made so far, considering I spent most of the first session we had together pissed off at Gibbs."

Ziva smirked.

"I see her again in a few days, and we'll talk about a few things."

"I assume pressure being one of them?" Ziva asked.

He briefly entertained the idea of glaring at her before choosing instead to nod. "Better coping strategies, too. So I don't let all of this build up in me again. Because…"

"You do not trust us enough to talk to us," she interrupted.

He shook his head. "It's not a lack of trust, so much as an image issue."

She furrowed her brow.

He sighed, shifting on the couch. "I'm afraid I'll lose your respect if you guys know too much."

"Yet you will tell Gibbs," she mused.

"Gibbs is different," he said, shrugging slightly.

"Why? Do you not believe you would lose his respect?"

"No. I know I could lose his respect too. But Gibbs is my superior. He _has_ to know."

"You will talk to Ducky."

"Because Ducky is a professional. _His_ respect I wouldn't lose."

She simply nodded.

"You know that I do trust you and McGee, right?" he asked, insecurity getting the best of him for the moment.

"Yes," she replied. "Craig too."

He scoffed lightly. "I trust Craig in the field. I don't trust him with my secrets."

"You do not trust us fully there, either."

Tony shrugged. "Gibbs neither," he said.

Ziva tilted her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Some things are better left unsaid."


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm on time this week! See the first chapter for the disclaimer. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 12: A Dinner Back Home… Sorta

_One Week Later  
__Norfolk, Virginia_

Craig opened the thick door, giving the person on the other side a quick nod. "Hey, man," he said, stepping out of the doorway to let his guest in. "Find the place alright?"

"Yeah," Tony replied as he walked in and closed the door behind him. "The directions were fine."

"Good."

Tony looked around the foyer, taking in the relative neatness of the room. There were a few family photos hanging on the wall, leading to the upstairs. The table by the door held Craig's keys, and his shoes were underneath, along with a few other scattered pairs in different sizes and styles. Tony took that as his cue to take off his own shoes.

"Can I get you a beer or something?" Craig asked, heading toward where Tony guessed the kitchen was.

"Uh… just water, thanks," Tony replied.

"Sure. Make yourself at home. Living room's through there, just watch out for the toys. I haven't had a chance to pick them up yet."

"Thanks for the warning." Tony made his way over to the couch, dodging the dolls, coloring books, crayons, and puzzles that littered the floor.

"Need help or anything?"

"Nah. I'm good." Tony sat down on the couch, settling back into the cushions. "Hey, have you ever been shot?"

Craig reappeared from the kitchen carrying two glasses of water. "Once or twice."

"So, then you know."

Craig shrugged, handing one of the glasses to Tony.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Craig said, sitting down in another chair. "Dinner should be here soon."

Tony scoffed lightly. "I thought you said you were gonna cook," he remarked.

Craig snorted softly. "You're lucky I even got here in time to meet you."

"Busy man or rough case?"

"Both. Child molester after Naval dependents."

Tony shook his head. "I hate those."

"Me too. Makes me think of my own."

"How are Katie and Sarah?" Tony asked.

"Well, Sarah's just starting to walk," Craig replied. "So, even though we try to keep a clear path around the house, she keeps throwing things around and making an even bigger mess. And Katie's in kindergarten, so she's starting to hang out with other kids at their houses."

"And I bet you've fully vetted all of them."

Craig chuckled. "Oh, yeah. You gotta know who your kids are spending time with."

"You know, they could've been here tonight."

"I wish, but they're not in the state. Meg took them to Florida for a week to spend time with her parents because Katie was off from school. Plus, I'm not sure you'd want Meg hanging around if they were up here. She's very… nurturing."

Tony chuckled lightly. "You mean smothering."

Craig shrugged. "To-_may_-to, to-_mah_-to."

Tony laughed. "I'm sorry you're stuck here and they went there."

"Oh, I'm not. You've never met my in-laws."

Tony laughed again.

"Now that Sarah's almost on her feet, Meg wants to have another soon," Craig said.

"Just her?" Tony retorted.

"Well… maybe I wouldn't mind a little more gender support in the house."

Tony smiled.

"So, are you a little less chatty tonight because you're tired, or is something wrong?" Craig ventured.

"I see you're in Dad-mode tonight," Tony hedged.

"Eh, I'm not entirely sure there's an off-switch."

Tony nodded. "I guess you either have it, or you don't. Hey, make sure your daughters' potential mates know you're a highly trained Marine who is licensed to carry."

Craig laughed as the doorbell rang. "I'll have to remember that one," he said as he made his way over to and opened the door. He paid the delivery man before turning around with the food. "And, Chinese food."

"Forks?"

"Top drawer, next to the fridge. There's juice, soda, and milk in the fridge if you want something other than water. Help yourself."

"Thanks." Tony stood up, making his way into the kitchen. "Hey, wasn't Abby supposed to join us tonight?"

"She said she was gonna swing by a little later. She had to help Sister Rosita with something. McGee and Gibbs were otherwise engaged tonight, and Ziva said she'd be a little late."

"Oh, okay." Tony walked back into the living room, taking the proffered take out container as he sat down on the couch. "Thanks."

"No problem," Craig said, relaxing back in his chair and taking a bite from his own. "So, how's rehab treating you?"

"I'm getting there," Tony replied, digging in. "Another week or so."

"That's good."

"Why? You wanna leave that badly?"

Craig chuckled. "Not really. Your team's awesome, but it's your team, not mine. I'm sure they'd rather have you."

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. You seem to fit well too."

Craig shook his head. "It's okay. Commuting from here to D.C. kinda sucks."

"Would you move?"

"If I got a full-time spot on the Navy Yard?"

Tony nodded.

"Probably," Craig said. "Meg's a nurse, so she can pretty much find a job anywhere. Katie's almost done for the school year, and she's still young, so it's easy to move her."

"Yeah, I guess," Tony said.

"You ever think about having kids?"

"I did, once or twice. Don't think I'd be able to handle that."

Craig shook his head. "You'd be fine. You've always been one to rise to an occasion."

Tony shrugged. "You don't know that much about me."

"Just going by what I've seen."

"What is it with everyone psychoanalyzing me?"

Craig took a bite of his food. "M'not psychoanalyzing," he said after a moment of chewing. "I'm observing. That's what an investigator does, right?"

Tony tilted his head back and forth in concession as the doorbell rang again. Craig stood, expertly dodging the toys and making his way into the foyer.

Tony stared at the open bin in the corner, presumably the one for all the toys. Family pictures adorned the walls, as well as photos of Craig in uniform and the day he and Meg got married. Tony surmised most of the decoration in the house was Meg's idea, given that the decorations were feminine and subtle.

However, there was a big screen TV and home theater that rivaled Tony's.

"You have a lovely home," Ziva said as she and Craig re-entered the room.

"Thank you," Craig replied. "Your food's still in the bag, and the kitchen's through there. Help yourself."

"Thank you," she said, patting Tony's shoulder as she passed him.

"I just noticed how big your movie collection is," Tony observed.

"Yeah," Craig replied, sitting in a chair. "Both Meg and I love movies. That's part of why we're still together- similar interests."

Tony nodded, standing and taking his container closer to Craig's movies while he ate.

Ziva walked back into the living room with a glass of soda. "Do you have a pool out back?" she asked.

"It's fenced in and padlocked, but yeah," Craig replied.

"Katie hasn't figured out how to hop fences yet?" Tony questioned mischievously from in front of the collection.

"Oh, she knows, but she knows better than to go around the pool without one of us. And don't even try to teach her how to climb the fences around the property."

Tony held up his hands in surrender. "You have my word."

Ziva smirked, reaching for her container in the bag.

"I'll only teach her how to climb trees," Tony added as he sat down on the couch again.

"Ah, she doesn't need your help there," Craig said. "Last week, she climbed to the top of the tree. Which was fine, until she looked down and realized she was afraid of heights."

Tony chuckled.

"What happened?" Ziva asked, taking a bite from her container as she sat down on the couch next to Tony.

"Oh, Meg called me, freaking out," Craig said. "Gibbs let me go home long enough to get Katie out of the tree and calmed down."

Ziva smirked.

"How long did that take?" Tony asked.

"About an hour," Craig answered. "Although, most of that time was spent trying to get her out of the tree without falling myself. It's amazing how easily a five-year-old can be pacified with the promise and eventual ice cream."

"Yeah, that works about 95 percent of the time."

"And the other five?"

"Well, then they're Gibbs."

Ziva smiled wider while Craig laughed. "I'm telling him you said that," he said.

"You think I'm afraid of him knowing I said that?" Tony retorted.

"Yes," Ziva and Craig said simultaneously.

Tony glared, but said nothing as the doorbell rang. Craig stood up, making his way out of the living room as Ziva turned to Tony. "You seem to be better tonight," she said.

"Better than what?" he replied.

She looked at him, taking a bite of her food.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm having a good day."

She smiled as Abby walked into the room, followed by Craig. "Hey, guys," she said, smiling slightly as she dug into the bag on the coffee table.

"Hey Abs," Tony replied, smiling. "How's it going?"

"I'm still trying to get my lab back in order while working on the ton of other cases that have come in."

"Hey, Ziva," Craig said. "You haven't been here before. Want a tour of the house?"

"Sure," Ziva replied, standing. She followed Craig out of the room, and Tony turned to Abby as she sat down in the chair Craig had vacated.

"That was smooth," Tony said.

"You've been here a while, and I've been here before," Abby said, shrugging.

"You were here?"

"I dropped something off to him about two months ago. Meg invited me to stay for dinner."

He nodded. "Yeah, Meg's nice like that."

Abby nodded, picking at her food.

"Abs, do you…"

"No," she cut in.

"Okay, but…"

"Tony, I said no."

"Can I just say one thing?"

"No, because I know what you're going to say. And I don't have to talk to you about it."

"I'm not trying to say you do."

She sighed, resting her head against the back of the chair as he watched her. "I'll be fine," she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Eventually. And before you start to get too worried, I wasn't…"

"Me."

She flinched, but nodded. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"Still." She sighed, taking a bite. "I'll drop it."

"Okay."

"How are you doing, though?"

"Physically, or with everything else?"

"Well, I know physically, you should be back soon."

He shrugged. "I'm having a good day."

"Yeah?"

Tony nodded, and Abby took a moment to study his facial expressions for the truth. "If you're lying to me, I'm going to throw you in the pool," she cautioned with a light smirk.

"As much as I'd like a swim, I'm not lying," he replied, smiling.

"Okay." She smiled, taking another bite as he did the same. After a moment, she said, "I never did say thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"New York."

Tony shook his head. "In that case, I never did apologize."

"For what?"

"Letting you get hurt at all."

"You took a bullet to save me."

"And I should've protected you better."

She shook her head. "You did the best you could. You were out for a pretty long time."

"Yeah, well…"

"Don't even think about saying you shouldn't have been," she interrupted. "You know as well as I do that there was nothing more you could have done. Don't blame yourself."

"Yes ma'am," he conceded, causing Abby to raise her eyebrows.

"Quick dismissal."

Tony shrugged. "I'm trying to maintain some of my good mood. Especially since…"

"Right. New topic?"

He smiled. "Sure."


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I'm sorry this is so late, but there have been quite a few negatives in my life recently, and I just haven't felt like writing. So, I apologize for that. I do plan to finish this story, though, so I hope you all are willing to stick it out with me. As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 13: An Unexpected Encounter

_Washington, D.C.  
__Four Days Later_

Tony smiled sweetly as he nodded at the receptionist. "Hey Nancy," he said.

"Morning, Tony!" she replied. "I'll let her know you're here."

"Great." Tony sat down in the waiting room, picking up the newspaper and opening it. Before he could finish reading the first section, he stopped, putting it down and looking around the waiting room. The room was warm yet professional, wood-paneled with the same plush carpeting that was present in the office. There were couches and chairs as in the office, plants in line with the windows, toys and children's magazines in the corner, magazines and newspapers on the coffee table.

The main difference between the office and the waiting room was Nancy's area, where the computer sat atop an old oak desk. Sydney's patient files were in a locked room somewhere behind reception, though Tony didn't know where. Not that he really had a need to- he was there for therapy, not a case. And though Nancy had come to know him well over the year or so he had been coming here, he wondered just how much she actually knew.

The door to the office opened, and Sydney stepped out, followed by McGee. McGee hesitated when he saw Tony, who stood up casually. "What's up, McGee?" he said softly.

"Hey, Tony," McGee replied. "How's it going?"

"Good, you?"

"Good. I'll see you later, Sydney."

"Bye, Tim," she said.

McGee nodded before walking over to Nancy to schedule his next appointment.

Sydney gave Tony a warm, inviting smile before stepping back into her office and holding the door open for Tony to follow behind her.

* * *

McGee made his way into the bullpen, sitting down behind his desk quietly. Gibbs looked up at the younger man, who shrugged. "Ran into Tony this morning," McGee said.

Gibbs stared at him.

"I never told him about Sydney."

Gibbs shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I don't want him to think…" McGee stopped, realizing where he was going with that. "No, it doesn't matter. At least, it shouldn't. Kind of like when he first started seeing her. So long as we're talking it out, right?"

Gibbs didn't say anything.

"Right," McGee concluded, turning to his computer. He started typing and going about his work before pausing. "There's no shame in it… right?"

Gibbs arched his eyebrows. "You're asking me?"

McGee shook his head. "I don't know."

Gibbs tilted his head side to side slightly. "So long as I'm not fetching you two from a bar."

McGee smirked slightly. "Right," he said, turning back to his work.

* * *

McGee knocked softly on the door before standing back. The door swung open, and McGee smirked. "I come with pizza," he said.

"Come on in," Tony said, stepping aside to let McGee in. Once inside, McGee put the pizza down on the coffee table while Tony closed and locked the door.

"So, how are you, Tony?" McGee asked, sitting down.

"I'm fine." Tony handed McGee a soda before sitting down.

"Thanks." McGee cracked it open, taking a sip. "So… I, uh… I wanted to…"

"You know, you don't have to explain or even say anything. And I'm not going to rag on you."

McGee nodded.

"Although, Sydney had mentioned before that she wanted to meet you."

McGee chuckled softly. "There's been talk of a few things…"

"Yeah, I know," Tony said, grabbing a slice. "Maybe we should go together one time."

McGee smiled slightly. "Then maybe she'd really lock us up."

Tony laughed. "Maybe. Although, I think that would end badly as well."

McGee laughed.

* * *

Abby sat at the bottom of the stairs, frowning slightly. Gibbs pushed himself away from the working on the boat to sit next to her. "You ever think about what these walls would say if they could talk?" she asked.

Gibbs smirked.

"I bet _they'd_ tell me how you get the boat out."

He chuckled softly.

She paused, contemplating her words before saying, "You ever had a bad experience that you'd just like to get out of your head, but no matter how hard you try, you can't?"

He nodded.

"How did you get through it?"

He shrugged. "Don't know that I ever really did," he said softly.

"You don't show it," she replied.

He didn't say anything.

"I know, you don't show much at all." She leaned against his arm, frowning. "I wish I could just get it out of my head, you know? I wish it was just some sort of nightmare, and I'd wake up, and it'd be over."

Gibbs nodded, resting his head against hers as he thought about the times Tony said those exact words.

"Something tells me you've heard that before," Abby observed.

"Hmm."

"Probably from Tony."

Gibbs didn't react either way.

"You know, he's still never told me what happened," she continued. "Not that I really want to know. And not that I don't already know."

He looked at her.

"Should I want to know?"

"You might want him to be honest with you," Gibbs suggested rather than answer.

"He's always honest with me," Abby countered. "I'm sure if I asked, he'd tell me."

Gibbs nodded.

"But I don't know that I really want to ask. But maybe I should. Maybe I should talk to him instead of freezing him out."

He raised and lowered his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Maybe after he's back at work. Maybe then it'll be easier."

He looked at her.

"It won't be any easier if I wait any longer, will it?"

Gibbs shook his head.

"I should just do it. I don't know. Why am I scared to talk to Tony?"

He watched her.

She looked over at him before frowning. "Even I can't answer that one."

* * *

"So, tell me something," McGee started. "What's the deal with Abby?"

Tony shrugged as he shook his head. "I was hoping you'd have an answer," he replied.

"She won't talk to me."

"Me neither."

McGee furrowed his brow. "But she stayed with you in New York."

"Because she was worried about me. Any time I try to talk to her, she shuts down."

"She snapped at Palmer this morning, and I could've sworn he was gonna cry."

Tony grimaced lightly. "She's always the nice one."

McGee nodded. "So, what can we do?"

Tony shrugged. "Cross your fingers and hope she talks to us?"

McGee scoffed slightly. "That hardly seems like enough."

"Could anyone help you when you were attacked in your apartment? Did I let you guys help me after Richard and his men kidnapped me?"

McGee shook his head.

"I doubt even Abby wouldn't take a page out of our books on this one," Tony said.

"I wish she'd talk to us," McGee said.

Tony shrugged slightly. "As long as she talks to someone."


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I'm sorry these updates have been slow and sporadic, but life is running me over. Also, there will only be three chapters after this one for this story. As always, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 14: First Day Back at Work… Again

_Washington, D.C.  
__Three Days Later_

Tony walked off the elevator, making his way into the bullpen to find Craig packing up his desk. "Hey, man," he said, drawing the other man's attention.

"Hey, Tony," Craig greeted. "How're you doing?"

"Better, thanks. Heading back to Norfolk?"

"Nah, I got a new position."

"Again?"

"Yeah. One of the teams downstairs just lost one of their agents to the West Coast, so I'm joining them."

"Well, at least you're not moving too far. Need any help?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks."

"No problem."

Craig picked up the box, shifting it to his left side. "It's good to see you back up here to work. So don't go knocking yourself out of here again, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Tony mocked.

"And eat your peas," Craig joked back, before extending his right hand to Tony. "Good luck."

Tony shook Craig's hand. "Yeah, you too. Be safe."

"You too." Craig started to make his way toward the stairs before turning around. "By the way, Abby's looking for you."

Tony nodded. "Thanks, man. See you around."

"See ya." Craig walked toward the stairs as Tony put his stuff down and made his way to the elevator.

* * *

"Abs?" Tony said, walking into the lab. "Craig said you were looking for me."

"Yeah," she replied, walking out of the middle room of the lab. She threw her arms tightly around Tony's neck. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," he said, returning the hug.

"I made you something," she said somewhat sheepishly as she let go.

He watched in confusion as she went into the middle lab before returning with a vest made out of bubble wrap. He started laughing softly, and she grinned.

"And now you'll be safe," she joked softly.

He leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks, Abs."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're back."

"Me too. I've missed this."

"You've actually missed working?"

"Well, when you haven't done something you're used to in months…"

"Right. I keep forgetting you were on a road trip."

He smiled slightly. "I've missed you too, you know," he said. "You haven't really been yourself lately."

"I know," she said quietly, sitting down at her computer. He leaned against the table next to her, folding his arms across his chest. "I never really wanted to talk to you about it, because I didn't want you to feel bad."

"Because I couldn't save you," he said.

"But, there was nothing you could've done, Tony. You did the best you could. And you _did_ save me."

"But not from Chip hurting you. Or my family hurting you. I got you into this mess, and I'm sorry."

"See? This is why I didn't want to talk about this with you. Because I knew you'd feel guilty."

He snorted lightly.

"But, I mean, it never was your fault," she continued. "It was neither of our faults. They were the lunatics."

"Must be something in the blood," he commented, winking.

She smiled.

"Abby…"

"I can tell you that it wasn't that bad. I mean, it was really bad, but…"

He tilted his head slightly.

"I always do that, don't I?" she asked.

He nodded.

She frowned. "Chip mostly talked. Stephan mostly hit."

"And… Domenico…?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mostly watched you. He was more concerned with what was going to happen when you woke up. By the way, I thought you kept your knife in the front."

"I move it around." He winked, and she smiled somewhat. "They, uh… they didn't…"

"No," she replied quickly. "It was hitting, it… it wasn't that."

Tony watched her for any hints of a lie, and nodded when he found none.

"It just… it…" she started, struggling for the right words.

"Yeah, I know," he breathed.

"And then, you almost died trying to make sure I got out of there okay, and… I felt guilty."

He put his hand on her shoulder tenderly. "Hey, I'd take a bullet for you anytime."

She looked up at him. "Next time you want to try that, can you at least be wrapped in Kevlar?"

He chuckled softly before nodding. "Deal."

She smiled, turning and wrapping her arms around him. He returned the gesture before bending and kissing her gently on the top of the head.

* * *

Tony made his way back into the bullpen, finding McGee, Ziva, and Gibbs waiting there. "Where were you?" she asked.

"Downstairs with Abby," he replied.

"Welcome back," McGee said, shaking Tony's hand.

Gibbs's phone rang, and he answered it with a gruff, "Yeah, Gibbs."

"You ready for this?"

"Probie, I was born ready."

"Gear up," Gibbs said, hanging up his phone.

* * *

"Lieutenant Erik Johannsenn," Tony said, reading from his PDA. "Stationed at Pax River, where he was a pilot. Went UA about four months ago."

"I guess we know where he ended up," McGee commented, gesturing at the bloated corpse before them with his camera.

"We won't know for sure until we confirm ID," Ducky said, moving aside a piece of torn clothing. "As of right now, his wallet might just be a spare wallet."

"Or, his killer dropped it," Tony said, shrugging.

"How long has he been here, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Hard to tell for certain," the M.E. replied. "I would estimate months, at least. We'll be able to get a better timeline back at the lab."

"Gonna need a positive on him."

"We'll get that too. Once we get him home. Of course, one could take his fingerprints now…"

Ducky looked at Gibbs, who looked at Ziva, who looked at Tony, who looked at McGee.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Ducky said, grabbing the fingerprint scanner from McGee's kit and scanning the body's fingerprints. "Our victim is… Lieutenant Owen Sutton, stationed at Camp Lejune."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs barked.

"Contact their C.O.s and next-of-kin, see what they have to say," he automatically replied, walking away.

Ducky stood up, leaning over to Gibbs. "Are you sure that's the best thing for him to be doing on his first day back?" he asked softly.

Gibbs simply stared.

* * *

"According to their C.O.s, Lieutenants Johannsenn and Sutton were best friends," Tony said, putting their info up on the plasma in the squad room as the others made their way in. "About four months ago, Lieutenant Sutton took leave to visit with Lieutenant Johannsenn, and never returned. Captain Jenkins, Lieutenant Sutton's C.O., filed a missing persons report with Special Agent Miles Overton down at Lejune, but leads ran cold."

"Until now," Gibbs said.

"I talked to Agent Overton, and he's sending us the case evidence and file, but he said that it appeared Lieutenant Sutton disappeared with his car. Lieutenant Johannsenn, on the other hand, wasn't exactly a model aviator, according to his C.O., Commander Thompson. Commander Thompson said Lieutenant Johannsenn was overly aggressive and didn't get along well with the rest of the squad, but the Commander had nothing he could bring formal charges up on."

Gibbs nodded. "Next-of-kin?"

"Lieutenant Sutton's parents live in Boca Raton, his sister lives in Maui, and his brother lives in Juneau. No wife, no girlfriend. Lieutenant Johannsenn's parents died about five months ago, no siblings, no wife, no girlfriend."

"Any more bodies?"

"Metro's checking the river, but so far, no sign of Lieutenant Johannsenn or either missing car. Got a BOLO out on all three, nationwide, no hits as of yet."

"Actually, Tony, one just came in," McGee said as he typed. "Lieutenant Johannsenn's car was impounded in St. Louis almost three months ago after sitting abandoned on the street. No one ever claimed it, but police found blood stains upon impound."

"McGee, contact St. Louis and have them send the blood samples to Abby for analysis," Gibbs said. "Ziva, get in touch with local morgues, see if they have any John Does fitting Lieutenant Johannsenn's description. DiNozzo, stay on Metro."

* * *

Gibbs made his way into Autopsy, finding Ducky standing over Lieutenant Sutton's body. "How'd he die, Duck?" he asked.

"Our lieutenant suffered massive internal trauma," Ducky replied. "Likely a result of a car accident. Several broken bones, including arms, legs, and ribs. It would've been nearly impossible for him to get himself out of a submerged vehicle and to the surface."

"Are you saying the crash killed him, or that he drowned?"

"He drowned as a result of the crash. And based on the friction burns, I'd say Lieutenant Sutton was our driver."

Gibbs nodded as Tony rushed in.

"Boss," he said. "Metro spotted a car up river from where we found Lieutenant Sutton, and there's a body caught up in the passenger's side seatbelt."

"Let's go," Gibbs said.

* * *

"Plates match Lieutenant Sutton's," Tony said as they made their way around the car that Metro had pulled out of the water.

"Windshield's gone," Gibbs said.

"Lieutenant Sutton breaks the windshield out, tries to make it to the surface but drowns instead."

"And Lieutenant Johannsenn likely suffered many internal injuries as well," Ducky said. "I'd venture to say that he died as a result of the crash as well."

"Seatbelt's cut," Gibbs observed.

"Maybe Lieutenant Sutton got free, tried to cut out Lieutenant Johannsenn, and drowned before he could finish," Tony suggested from the car's rear bumper. "Most of the crash damage is from coming over the embankment, no signs they were pushed down it. I'll help Abby check the car for mechanical issues when we get it back to NCIS."

"Does raise the question."

"Who stole Lieutenant Johannsenn's car, and whose blood is in it?"


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: I know, I've been terrible with updates, but I can promise you that I'll have another update later this week as well. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. There will be two chapters after this one. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please review. :)

* * *

Chapter 15: Puzzle Pieces

_Washington, D.C.  
__Later that Day_

"Blood in Lieutenant Johannsenn's car matches a cold case in Virginia Beach," Abby said as Gibbs walked in. "Kay Farmer, a tax accountant, was found raped and murdered in an alley off of Main Street. No evidence, no witnesses, no leads. Case ran cold pretty fast."

"What about St. Louis's case with the car?" Gibbs asked.

"They determined that the car belonged to Lieutenant Johannsenn, but since prints on the steering wheel didn't match his, the most they could do was try and ask him what happened with his car. Except…"

"He was dead."

"Yep. And despite that he was stationed on the East Coast, St. Louis didn't run the DNA against cases this far east, mostly because…"

"Politics."

She nodded. "Cases piling in, a serial killer, Tony's stolen car… since they found no dead or living victims with matching DNA to the car within their jurisdiction, they shelved it for the time being."

He nodded. "Good work, Abs."

"But, I have more. I'm running the fingerprints on the steering wheel through every database, with the focus being more on the East Coast. No hits yet, but…"

Her machine beeped.

"Okay, again, good timing," she said, hitting a few keys. "Prints finally got a hit… a David Bires, from D.C. He was recently arrested for, no surprise here, but grand theft auto."

"DNA?" Gibbs asked.

"Doesn't match the blood in the car. North East, Maryland is holding him without bail."

"He's ours now."

* * *

"I didn't put no blood in the car."

Tony snorted from his position against the wall in the corner of the interrogation room as Gibbs stared at David Bires from across the table. "You didn't put it there, or you don't know how it got there?" Tony asks, slightly amused.

David shifted in his seat. "Neither. Both. I don't know. There wa'n't no blood in it when…"

"When what?"

"You stole it," Gibbs supplied calmly.

David shrugged. "It was just sittin' there with the keys in it," he tried. "That was like invitin' someone to take it."

"Well, yeah, I guess that's an easy way to get rid of evidence of a murder," Tony said.

"I'm tellin' you, there wa'n't no blood in it then."

Tony eased himself off the wall. "So, you killed someone in it."

"No."

Gibbs slapped the table, causing David to jump. "Whose blood is it?" he growled.

"I-I don't know!" David insisted. "I… I ditched that car."

"Where?"

"Nashville, about two months ago. And there wa'n't no blood in it when I did. I'm a thief. I ain't a murderer."

"They always sound so sincere when they say that," Tony commented, looking at Gibbs as he moved near the table. "But, if you did ditch the car in Nashville two months ago, how come your prints are still in it?"

"I don't know," David said. "Maybe no one else took it."

"Or maybe…"

"You didn't ditch it there," Gibbs finished for Tony.

"Although, you did ditch it," Tony said, tilting his head to the side and back. "St. Louis is a very lovely city, isn't it?"

"Never been," David said, nerves starting to creep into his voice.

"You sure about that?" Tony asked, leaning in toward David.

"Yeah, man. I told you, I ditched it in Nashville two months ago."

"That's interesting, considering it's been sitting in an impound yard in St. Louis for the past three months."

"So, why don't you start telling us the truth?" Gibbs said.

"It's my blood," David tried.

"See, your DNA's in the system, thanks to your exploits," Tony said, standing up behind David. "We know it's not yours."

David groaned. "It's not what you're thinkin'."

"Apparently, it never is."

"There was this hooker… she was bleedin' and shit. I tried to get her to the hospital. I didn't stick around to find out if she made out okay."

"A hooker, huh? Where'd you pick her up?"

"St. Louis."

Tony nodded sarcastically. "Except, we know who the blood belongs to. And it wasn't St. Louis, it was Virginia Beach."

David sighed, realizing he was busted. "She was a bitch. Deserved to die."

Tony furrowed his brow as he moved beside Gibbs. "And why, exactly, is that?"

Gibbs glanced over at Tony.

David shrugged. "Wouldn't give it up," he said.

"What?" Tony asked, struggling to keep his anger in check.

David's face morphed into one of irritation and fury. "She'd spread her legs for damn near anyone who gave her the time of day. But she wouldn't give it to me."

"So, what, you took it anyway?"

"Why not? It was for free."

Tony shook his head. "And, let me guess. Afterward, you were afraid she'd talk, and so you killed her to keep her quiet?"

"Pretty much. What's wrong with that? She had it comin'."

Tony slapped his hands on the table, leaning close to David. "What's wrong with that is that she was a human being, and she deserved better."

David scoffed. "She wa'n't no human being or none of that shit. She was a slutty bitch who got off screwin' people out of their money, so don't go tryin' to make her a saint or nothin'."

"She may not have been a saint, but it doesn't give you the right to rape and kill her," Tony said calmly, standing upright again.

"On behalf of the Virginia Beach Police, you're under arrest," Gibbs said as Tony left the interrogation room.

* * *

Gibbs found Tony almost an hour later sitting outside on the lawn, staring out across the parking lot.

"I'm not losing it," Tony said softly as Gibbs moved up behind him.

"I know," Gibbs replied, sitting down next to Tony.

Tony shook his head. "I don't know, Boss. I guess I'll never understand."

Gibbs said nothing.

"I mean, what makes a person think… that… is a good idea? I know it's about control, but… I'll never get it."

"Not sure I do either," Gibbs said.

Tony closed his eyes, sighing. "I think what really bothers me is that, he's just so… whatever about it," he started. "Like it's nothing. Like it didn't even matter. Just another day, another thing. Raping her, killing her… all he can say is that she had it coming?"

Gibbs exhaled softly.

"How do people get that in their heads?" Tony continued. "Is it genetic? Environmental? Nature/nurture? Who raises these people? How do they end up that way?"

Gibbs shook his head.

Tony snorted softly, smirking. "Maybe I should ask Sydney next time I see her."

Gibbs shrugged.

"I'll have to ask McGee to remember that for me."

"McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, we decided to go together next session," Tony said, chuckling.

Gibbs smirked. "God help Sydney."

Tony laughed.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. This is the second to last chapter of the story, and I hope you guys enjoy it. :)

* * *

Chapter 16: Come Together, Right Now… Over Me

_Washington, D.C.  
__One Week Later_

McGee walked into the waiting room, finding Tony sitting there. After bidding a good morning to Nancy, he sat down next to his colleague. "Morning," he said cautiously.

"Morning, Probie," Tony replied, grinning. "Nervous?"

"Concerned."

Tony snickered softly. "For her, or for us?"

McGee smiled lightly. "Both."

Tony laughed a little louder, causing Nancy to look up.

"Should we make a pact to be nice?" McGee asked.

"I think we should make a pact to be honest," Tony replied. "And what happens in the room…"

"Stays in the room. Believe me, I understand."

Tony nodded. "And maybe we should also hope to get out of here in one piece."

McGee chuckled. "That might be the easy part."

Tony smirked.

Sydney followed a client out of her office before giving a warm smile to the two men sitting there. "Nice to see both of you gentlemen," she greeted. "Come on in."

She trailed behind them as they made their way into the office, sitting on the couch. After a quick glance between them, McGee slid over slightly, putting an inch gap between them.

"I was surprised when you two wanted to come together," she said, sitting in the chair across from them.

"Two birds with one stone," Tony said, shrugging.

"I think we could use it," McGee added, glancing at Tony.

"To-_may_-to, to-_mah_-to."

"What makes you say that?" Sydney asked.

Tony snickered. "You know us, Sydney," he replied. "Does it surprise you that we'd have trouble getting along sometimes?"

Sydney chose not to answer that with anything more than a slight smile.

"It's not my fault," McGee said.

"It's both our faults," Tony injected, looking at the floor.

"You're the one that always antagonizes me."

"And it makes you a stronger man."

"It aggravates me. There have been more than a few times that I've wanted to kill you."

Tony shrugged. "Join the club. Seems like there are thousands who want that goal."

McGee furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry."

Tony shook his head. "For what? I bring it on myself."

"Why?"

Tony looked at McGee before looking at Sydney.

"You say what you feel comfortable saying," she reminded him gently.

Tony looked back at McGee. "Because negative attention is better than none at all."

"Your father?" McGee asked.

Tony shrugged. "A combination of people, I guess. I don't really know anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"You apologize a lot, for things that aren't even your fault."

"It's just something I've always done," McGee said, shrugging. "I never really thought about it. Or noticed, for that matter."

"Because it's just a knee-jerk reaction?" Tony asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. Maybe that's why I always get in trouble."

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, you suck at keeping rule number six."

McGee laughed slightly before looking at Sydney. "That would be…"

"Never say you're sorry," she finished for him. "I know. But thank you."

"You told her the rules?" McGee asked Tony.

"Just rule six," Tony responded. "And four. And ten and eleven. And fifteen."

"The ones you break the most often?"

"Pretty much. Oh, and I told her about thirty-nine and forty."

"The ones most applicable to your life."

"Sadly, yes."

McGee nodded before shifting slightly uncomfortably on the couch, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Sydney or Tony.

"What's on your mind, Tim?" Tony asked, looking over at him.

"Nothing really," McGee replied.

"We're in a safe place here, Timmy."

McGee inhaled. "Okay, you remember the night Gibbs had to pick us up from the bar?"

"I remember that I had a better shot of remembering that night's events than you did."

"You said some things on the lawn that I never really asked about. Nor did I really ask about the things I eavesdropped on the next morning."

"You eavesdropped?"

"You and Gibbs were talking kind of loudly."

Tony snorted. "And here I had this respect for your initiative and investigative instinct."

McGee smirked lightly.

"Ask away."

"The whole part about doing your homework and eating your peas…"

Tony furrowed his brow. "I don't remember that."

"Did your father ever hit you?"

"A few times," Tony admitted. "And, despite how fairy-tale this might sound, there were wicked stepmothers too."

"How… how did you just… not fall apart?" McGee asked.

"I don't know. Never really thought about it. Always figured the day would come where everything would be fine again. Besides, it wasn't like he did it every night. I usually had to warrant it, like spitting my peas across the table at my little sister or something."

"Is that why you think everything that goes wrong is your fault?"

"That's what my father always told me. No matter what went wrong, it was all my fault. Of course, it usually wasn't, and I know that. But it's something I've never quite been able to shake. I guess him dying before I had the chance to talk to him about any of it didn't help, either. And he always blamed me for my mother's suicide. Guess it was easier than facing his own inadequacies as a husband and father. But, I'm not really being fair."

"How you feel is how you feel."

Tony shrugged.

"I can't imagine what it must've been like for you growing up," McGee said.

"I wouldn't want you to," Tony replied. "It's bad enough that I had to." He shook his head slowly. "I wouldn't want any of you guys to go through half the stuff I did. But I also never wanted any of you to feel sorry for me, or look down on me or anything."

"Hence the antagonism."

"The antagonisms also just fun."

McGee smirked. "There is that."

"See? You know you don't mind it either."

"Sometimes, yes, they're funny. Especially when you're making fun of Ziva."

"Ahh, the days where I tempt fate."

McGee chuckled softly.

"I doubt she'd ever actually kill me," Tony said. "At least, I hope not. Because of anyone, she'd be the one who could actually do it."

"Nah, I think she likes you too much now. Although, a few years ago…"

Tony laughed. "Yeah, a few years ago, she'd have killed me where I stood if the situation warranted it."

"But the relationship changed?" Sydney interjected.

"Well, she's worked with us for a while now," Tony replied. "We've grown on her."

"Not sure if that's a good thing or not," McGee added.

"Well, it helps us because we can correct her English and she doesn't kill us."

"She only threatens."

"Mostly me, but I get that a lot."

"How much do you really think she knows about us?"

"She has dossiers on us, McGee. I'm sure she knows more than we want her to."

"Very true."

Sydney looked back and forth between her two clients silently, waiting to see their next topic of conversation.

"She's not a bad person," McGee explained, looking at Sydney.

"She was just trained to be an assassin," Tony added.

"She's a good person."

"Well, we like her, anyway. Vance, on the other hand…"

"What's wrong with the director?"

"Anyone who breaks us up just to play a game isn't okay in my book. I mean, could it have killed him to tell us about it?"

"Well, you weren't there for the other shoe to drop," McGee said. "Turned out that Langer wasn't the problem."

"I know," Tony replied. "Ziva told me."

"That's a surprise."

"That Ziva told me something?"

"When'd she tell you?"

"When she made me dinner my first night back in D.C."

McGee nodded.

Tony looked over at McGee before smiling slightly. "Ask it," he said.

"Huh?" McGee replied.

"What's on your mind?"

"I don't know, I guess I keep going back to the lawn. Were you ever mad at me for that?"

"Are you kidding me? I was too drunk to really get mad. Plus, it wasn't like you knew what you were doing, either. I might've been mad if you knew."

"I was acting like an ass."

"So was I."

"'Can you remind me of this moment next time you call me McScaredy Cat?'"

Tony snorted. "Huh, I thought you'd never remember that," he remarked.

"Well, when I find out things later that make me feel like an ass…" McGee said.

"Like you just said, you didn't know at the time you said it. Why should I be mad at you for that?"

"I don't know."

"The whole 'teddy' thing is still kinda funny now."

McGee chuckled. "Glad you think so."

Tony smirked.

"Not exactly one of my shining moments."

"That whole experience was not a shining moment for either of us," Tony pointed out.

"That's true," McGee agreed. "Any time your boss has to pick you up from a bar…"

"Gibbs wasn't all that mad, you know. I mean, he was, but he wasn't."

"He seemed pissed to me."

"Well, he was pissed, but… I think part of him also felt bad. At least for me."

"Yeah, I don't think it was the same with me."

Tony shrugged. "I think I'd rather have him mad at me than feeling bad for me. But, that's just me."

McGee didn't respond either way.

"What makes you feel that way?" Sydney asked.

"Never could figure that out," Tony replied. "Guess I just don't like people feeling bad or sorry for me. They shouldn't. I'm alive, I'm doing fine. I'm not comfortable with people feeling bad for me."

"Same here," McGee said.

"I hate that."

"Me too."

"More or less than you hate heights?"

McGee rolled his eyes. "I thought we were avoiding that."

"I never said that," Tony commented.

"Well, let's not go there."

"I'm just saying, perfect opportunity."

"I'm not afraid of heights."

"You've shown that fear on more than one occasion."

"And you're afraid of commitment."

"Guilty as charged, but I talk about it."

"I've never told you anything I've said here," McGee pointed out.

Tony shrugged. "True. And the only thing I've ever told you about was the first time I came here with Gibbs."

"You never told me that."

"I thought I did."

"I don't know, maybe."

"I'll tell you later, then."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Unfortunately, our time is up today," Sydney gently interjected into the lull that followed McGee's statement. "If you two would like, we can do this again sometime, or we could stay mainly with your separate sessions."

The two men looked at each other. "We'll get back to you on that," they said simultaneously.

Sydney smiled. "Take care, and I'll see you both soon."


	18. Epilogue

A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. Before I get into the final chapter, I just wanted to thank everyone who's been reading this series, reviewing, alerting, favoriting, etc. I'm glad you guys have enjoyed reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing them. It's been a fun two years, and I thank you all so much for your support. I never say never, but at the moment, there's no intention of writing a fourth chapter story (there is a crossover one-shot for this series). There's a possibility of a one-shot or two popping up here or there, though. And, like I said, I never say never. :D

Again, thank you all so much for coming along with me on this journey, and I hope this final chapter doesn't disappoint. The song at the end is "Someday" by Sugar Ray, which I also don't own. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review. :)

* * *

Epilogue: "I'm Not Sure It'll Ever Be Over"

_Washington, D.C.  
__One Month Later_

The knock on his door made him slightly more nervous than it should have, he realized as he jumped up off his couch. He opened the door, finding her to be outwardly as cautious as he was internally. He smiled, stepping back out of the doorway to let her in.

"I remembered the pizza," she offered, handing him the box.

"I've got everything else we need," he replied, gesturing at the junk food that littered his coffee table.

She smiled, looking at the marshmallows, three different kinds of chips they liked, and seven different bowls of candy that covered the small rectangle. Only one thing looked out of place. "What's with the carrots?" she asked.

"Eh, figured there should be something healthy."

She laughed, and he smiled.

"So, I have soda, water, juice, and pretty much anything else you could want except Caff-Pow," he said.

"I'll take a soda," she replied.

"Coming right up."

He disappeared into the kitchen, and she took the moment to study his apartment. Over the past year and a half or so, she had seen his place in varying degrees of disarray, depending on his current mindset. When he was at his worst, so was his apartment. But now, it was tidy and neat, like it had always been.

Well, neat for him, anyway.

She smiled lightly as she sat down, easing the pizza onto the only bare spot on the coffee table. It was good to see that things were getting back to normal, even if they weren't completely there yet. There were times when she still saw the pain and anguish in him, the two things he tried his damndest to hide. But for the most part, he was a lot like the person she'd always known.

And that was quite a relief.

"Here you go," he said, breaking into his thoughts as he handed her a plate and a Coke.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Everything okay?"

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"The past two years."

He nodded, sitting next to her on the couch as her words sunk in.

"Amazing what we made it through, huh?"

"Yeah," he agreed softly.

"You… me… McGee…" she suggested.

"Yeah."

"It's over, though. And we're all fine."

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure it'll ever be over. I mean, the physical pain is, but the emotional scars… they'll never completely go away. We'll live with them and move on, but they'll always still be there. And I think we all know that."

"I suppose," she conceded, knowing he'd know better than the rest of them.

"I never did ever tell you the truth, did I?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

She shook her head. "I remember telling you I wasn't sure I wanted to know."

"I remember. But, if that ever changes, I don't want you to be afraid to ask, okay?"

"I mean… I know. You didn't tell me, but I know. I guess… I guess I didn't ever really want the details, and I'm sure I still don't."

"Fair enough. But if you change your mind…"

"I'll ask. And you promise that you'll only tell me what you feel comfortable with?"

He snorted softly. "There are some times that I'm not comfortable with anything, but I promise I'll be honest."

She nodded. "Can I assume that Gibbs knows the details?" she asked.

"You can," he replied. "And you can be safe in that assumption. I'm pretty sure he knew the details long before I ever told him. Ducky too."

"That ever make you feel uncomfortable?"

He shrugged. "A lot, at first. But the more they kept them to themselves and tried to help me, the more I became okay with it."

She nodded again, leaning forward and taking a carrot stick. "After Gibbs, you told Ziva?"

"I never exactly told Ziva," he corrected as he grabbed a slice of pizza. "She kinda figured everything out for herself. And she asked a few questions here and there, but I'm not sure I ever actually said the words to her more than she understood."

"And McGee?"

"Him, I told. Without meaning to, of course. I was drunk and having a panic attack. I'm pretty sure half of Gibbs' neighborhood heard that."

She frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, taking a bite of the pizza. "It's actually been better for me to get it out than hold it in. So, I guess some of what Sydney's been drilling into me has been working."

She chuckled softly. "She's gonna miss you when you stop going," she said.

He laughed. "Oh, I'm sure I've got more years before that happens," he replied playfully, smirking.

She smiled back. "So, how did Palmer ever find out?"

"I don't know that he does either. I mean, besides the bare-bones. I'm not sure he has any details. He's just… oddly good at reading people."

"And has a thing for shoes."

He laughed heartily. "I heard about that."

"Oh, if only you had been there."

He snickered softly before quieting down. "I'm not sure I ever thanked you for all your support."

She shook her head. "We're family. That's what we do."

He nodded softly as she snuggled closer to him on the couch.

"So," she said after a moment and a bite of her own piece of pizza. "What's the movie for tonight?"

_Some say, better things will come our way.  
__No matter what they try to say,  
__You were always there for me.  
__Some way, when the sun begins to shine,  
__I'll hear a song from another time,  
__And fade away._

_**The End**_


End file.
